Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 10 : BJP National Spokesperson C.R. Kesavan on Tuesday criticised Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi over her memoir ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, saying it could have been titled ‘Whitewashing’ as he alleged that the book sought to sugarcoat historical wrongs committed by the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress party.
“Sonia Gandhi could have titled her memoir ‘Whitewashing’, instead of ‘Belonging’ because the motive of this book appears to be sugarcoating the historical wrongs perpetrated by the Nehru-Gandhi family and camouflaging the cardinal sins committed by the Congress party,” he said.
Questioning Sonia Gandhi’s references to the Babri Masjid, the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre, the Batla House encounter and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Kesavan asked whether she had expressed similar grief over the deaths of innocent people and security personnel.
“Sonia Gandhi says she cried for Babri Masjid. Did she shed even a drop of tears when Gurdwaras were attacked and thousands of innocents were brutally targeted and killed during the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre, which happened under Congress rule?” he said.
He also questioned her remarks about the Batla House encounter and asked whether she had expressed grief over the deaths of security personnel and innocent people during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
“Sonia Gandhi wept profusely for the Batla House terrorists. Did she cry when our brave jawans, in the line of duty, were martyred protecting our nation and people? Did Sonia Gandhi shed even a drop of tears when innocent lives were killed during the merciless 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai?” he questioned.
Kesavan further asked whether the memoir addressed the Congress-led UPA government’s response to the 26/11 attacks.
Criticising Sonia Gandhi’s account of the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he said it was appalling to normalise or justify a period during which fundamental rights were suspended.
“The way in which Sonia Gandhi has tried to normalise and justify the notorious Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, which suspended fundamental rights and murdered our Constitution, is appalling and shocking,” he said.
Kesavan alleged that Congress governments at the Centre, whether directly or indirectly, had been controlled by the Nehru-Gandhi family for more than 55 years and had inflicted enormous damage on Indian polity and democracy. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with correcting what he described as historical wrongs committed by the Congress.
Meanwhile, in Patna, JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha questioned Sonia Gandhi’s account of refusing the Prime Minister’s post in 2004, claiming that Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav had refused to support her.
“This is a controversial matter as well. While managing numbers, what we know is that Mulayam Singh Yadav had refused to support her. Otherwise, there was a full attempt to become the PM. But she could not become. It is a different matter what she did or did not do,” Jha said.
On Sonia Gandhi’s remarks about the Emergency, Jha said he had read a statement in a newspaper in which she had said that Indira Gandhi did not really want to impose it.
“How can this be? She was the PM of the country. Saying that a few people advised her is surprising,” he said.
BJP MP Rahul Sinha dismissed the significance of Gandhi’s memoir, ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, saying that her writings would make no difference and questioning her support for former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi despite the Emergency.
“Sonia Gandhi’s writings will not make any difference; nobody is going to read it. She may support Indira Gandhi despite the Emergency and the imprisonment of citizens, but the people of this country will not support that,” Sinha said.
In Rae Bareli, Minister Dinesh Pratap Singh also questioned Sonia Gandhi’s account of stepping aside from the Prime Minister’s post, claiming that then President APJ Abdul Kalam had refused to swear her in due to her foreign origin and that the incident was later portrayed as a resignation.
“President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam refused to swear in Sonia Gandhi due to her foreign origins. Later, this entire incident was portrayed as a resignation,” he said.
Singh also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a debate, saying that the public had elected him as an MP and Leader of the Opposition to debate in Parliament, but he ran away from the House.
He accused Rahul Gandhi of not raising issues concerning development and the concerns of people in his Rae Bareli constituency in Parliament.
Taking a dig at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over his decision to visit the Ram Temple, Singh said, “You’ve come too late, sir,” and alleged that leaders who oppose the BJP and Ram would no longer gain political advantage by visiting the temple.