Sonia asked does Narasimha Rao want to send me to jail': Cong leader in book

New Delhi: The decision by then Narasimha Rao government to appeal against a Delhi High court order quashing the Bofors case linking Rajiv Gandhi had deepened Sonia Gandhi's suspicion over Rao, escalating friction between the two, says veteran Congress leader Margaret Alva.

Ahead of release of her book "Courage and Commitment", which is an account of her chequered political life, Alva said following the decision, she was asked by a furious Sonia whether Rao wanted to send her to jail.

Alva, who held various positions in Congress before she was asked to resign in 2008 after her allegations that party tickets were "sold" in the Karnataka Assembly polls, appeared critical of Congress leadership for "centralised decision-making" system in the party.

She also spoke about relationship between CPN Singh, a Minister of Indira Gandhi's government and Wolfgang Michel, father of middleman Christian Michel whose name had cropped up in the AgustaWestland chopper deal.

Alva talked about supply of tanks to South Africa in 1980 and how Wolfgang Michel, then based in London, was influential and may have had links with Sanjay Gandhi.

Recalling tense relationship between Sonia and Rao, Alva said the PMO's decison to deal with the CBI directly over the Bofors case without her knowledge had deepened Sonia's suspicion towards Rao.

"I was the Minister in-charge of the CBI and she asked me that. The decision was taken without my knowledge. The file was dealt directly by the PMO," she told Karan Thapar of a TV show.

Alva also disapproved of the party leadership not showing respect to Rao in his death. "His body was even not let into the AICC compound. Gun carriage was parked on the pavement outside the gate.

"Whatever the differences were, he was the PM, he had been Congress president, he was Chief Minister, he was party general secretary. When a man is dead you do not treat him that way," she said.

74-year-old Alva said she was hurt at the way Rao was treated in his death, adding, "This is not the way to treat a dead leader."

Talking about her resignation as party's general secretary after her criticism of the party in the run up to the Karnataka assembly polls in 2008, Alva said, "I paid the price for saying the tickets were being sold."

Alva said she was reprimanded by Sonia for speaking against the party before the polls which was won by the BJP. She also claimed that senior leader A K Antony wanted her to be expelled from the party but Sonia rejected the suggestion.

A three-member Congress panel comprising her and two other leaders had decided to eject Antony as Kerala Chief Minister in 2004 and replace him with Oommen Chandy and that was "held against me" by Antony, Alva said.

"He thought that, I sort of, instigated it (Antony's ouster as Kerala CM). He got the better of me. I was told by people that, in fact, he had recommended my expulsion. But Gandhi said no," said Alva.

She also claimed she was often told by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he wanted her in his Cabinet. Throwing more lights on frosty relationship between Rao and Sonia, Alva said, "Rao would call me sometime on a Sunday evening and simply ask what does the lady want. Nothing I could say.

"But he wanted to know what the mood was at 10 Janpath. He was worried. He did not want to have any sort of clash or problem with her and when I spoke to Soniaji she always felt that Rao for some reason or the other was not prepared to deal with the way he should have. "But most important of all is that I paid the price as both suspected me."

Asked whether Wolfgang Michel had an association with then Minister of State for Defence Production CPN Singh, Alva said so many facets are well documented. She said top army people had told her that tanks were being loaded in Bombay and marked for Canada but were unloaded in South Africa when India did not have good ties with it.

She even claimed a sealed letter was thrown inside her residence which was drafted at the Minister's chamber and sent to London for Michel's signature, saying "I had contacted him when I was in London" and tried to cut a deal.

However, the records show she was not in London during that period, she said while noting that she had placed before the Parliament all these details which created a furore.