New Delhi, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi of attempting to downplay the Emergency and shield the Nehru-Gandhi family from public scrutiny through her newly released memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.
BJP national spokesperson C.R. Kesavan criticised the former Congress president, saying the book would have been more appropriately titled “Whitewashing”.
“Sonia Gandhi could have titled her memoir as ‘Whitewashing’ instead of ‘Belonging’, because the motive of this book appears to be sugar-coating the historical wrongs perpetrated by the Nehru-Gandhi family and camouflaging the cardinal sins committed by the Congress party,” Kesavan said in a post on X.
His remarks came on the day the memoir was released. In the book, Sonia Gandhi described the Emergency imposed by her mother-in-law, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in 1975 as a mistake. She also suggested that Indira Gandhi eventually reached a similar conclusion and that much of the damage could have been avoided had she kept her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, “in check”.
Related Posts
Kesavan accused Sonia Gandhi of attempting to “justify and normalise” the Emergency instead of acknowledging the suspension of fundamental rights, restrictions on press freedom and other excesses during the period.
The BJP spokesperson also questioned her references to the demolition of the Babri Masjid, accusing her of showing selective concern over communal violence and terrorism.
“She says she cried for Babri Masjid. Did Sonia Gandhi shed even a drop of tear when gurdwaras were targeted, and thousands of innocent people were violently killed during the 1984 Sikh massacre, which happened during Congress rule?” he asked.
Kesavan also referred to the 2008 Batla House encounter and questioned whether Sonia Gandhi had expressed similar concern for security personnel who lost their lives fighting terrorism.
“Did Sonia Gandhi cry for the innocent lives lost in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which happened under the Congress government? Will her book answer why the Congress-led UPA government failed to retaliate?” he said.
He further raised questions about Sonia Gandhi’s reported visit to the residence of former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh shortly before the publication of his autobiography, One Life Is Not Enough, in 2014.
Natwar Singh’s book discussed developments surrounding Sonia Gandhi’s decision to decline the Prime Minister’s post after the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. According to his account, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had met him before the book’s publication and discussed passages concerning that period.
Referring to the reported meeting, Kesavan questioned why Sonia Gandhi had visited Natwar Singh after a gap of eight-and-a-half years and what she was apprehensive about in the account.
“Why, and what was Sonia Gandhi so apprehensive about what Natwar Singh would write in his book about events leading to the swearing-in of the UPA government in 2004?” he asked.
Concluding his criticism, Kesavan accused the Congress of damaging India’s political system and democratic institutions during its decades in power at the Centre, while crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with addressing what he described as historical wrongs.
“The Congress regime at the Centre for nearly 55 years inflicted unfathomable damage and scars on Indian polity and our democracy,” Kesavan added.
FOLLOW NOW
