Sonia Gandhi's Memoir Sparks BJP-Congress Row

In an interview to a national daily ahead of the release of her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Mrs Gandhi accused the BJP-led government of weakening democratic institutions, controlling the mainstream media and exploiting religion for political gains.

She alleged that the Congress and other Opposition parties had been denied a level playing field and claimed that recent developments had exposed electoral malpractice.

"What is more, it has been amply proved in recent months that many elections have been stolen, and people are now more aware of it," she alleged.

However, Gandhi expressed confidence in the Congress' prospects, saying the party had continued to fight despite what she described as persecution of its workers and leaders.

Hitting back, BJP leader Tarun Chugh asked Gandhi to shed her "Italian lenses" and acknowledge India's economic growth and development under the Modi government.

He accused the Congress of dividing the country along caste and religious lines and asked Gandhi to address controversies surrounding the Congress's years in power, including the Bofors scandal, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the Bhopal gas tragedy.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also accused Gandhi of attempting to justify the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975.

In her interview, Gandhi acknowledged that democratic rights had been curtailed during the Emergency but maintained that it had been imposed constitutionally. She said she had understood the gravity of the restrictions only later and believed that Indira Gandhi had been uncomfortable with the situation.

The memoir also revisits deeply personal moments in Gandhi's life, including the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

Recalling the moment Rajiv Gandhi told her that he had been asked to become Prime Minister, she wrote, "I felt as if a knife had been plunged right into my heart."

When she begged him not to accept the post, fearing for his life, Rajiv replied, "They will kill me anyway."

Gandhi also recalled crying as she watched the demolition of the Babri Masjid on television and acknowledged that the Congress had been complacent in confronting the BJP's rise.

"I think we have been too complacent in many ways. There was a laissez-faire kind of an attitude," she said.

On her eventual entry into active politics after Rajiv's assassination in 1991, Gandhi said she had struggled between personal reservations and a sense of duty. Reading the Bhagavad Gita helped her resolve the conflict, she said.

She also recalled being hurt when senior Congress colleagues P.A. Sangma, Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar questioned her foreign origin, but said she eventually decided not to allow personal feelings to divert her from her political responsibilities.

The memoir, published by HarperCollins India, is scheduled for release on November 10.