NEW DELHI: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi appeared to sidestep questions about the Gandhi family’s continued control of the party and allegations of nepotism during an interview with British newspaper The Guardian, saying the question of its leadership should be put to the party itself.“You would have to ask the party,” she told the interviewer when asked why the Congress had not moved beyond the Gandhi family’s leadership.The newspaper said Sonia Gandhi “skates over the question of nepotism”, quoting her response to the charge that the party is controlled by one family. “We all fight elections: we win them, we lose them. All of us have,” Sonia Gandhi said in a vague answer to nepotism charge.The interview was published on Saturday, alongside an edited extract from her memoir, “Belonging: A Journey of Love”, which is due to be released early next week.
Sonia Gandhi “skates over the question of nepotism”, the newspaper said.
Gandhi grip amid Congress losses
Sonia maintained that the Congress could still emerge as a credible alternative to the BJP. However, the interviewer noted that many people remained unconvinced after the party’s repeated electoral defeats.The article pointed to the Congress’s decline under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. After taking over from his mother, Rahul lost the last three general elections to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The party is now in power in only a few states, while the BJP’s Hindutva ideology has become the country’s dominant political force.The newspaper observed that the Gandhi family’s continued control had made it difficult for the Congress to shake off allegations of nepotism and leadership by political elites.Sonia was also defensive when asked about the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, which remained in power for a decade until 2014, and the controversies surrounding its tenure.“In almost every single instance, the ministers resigned,” she said, responding to the criticism.
Sonia calls Emergency a mistake
The conversation also turned to the Emergency imposed by her mother-in-law, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, in 1975.She described the decision as a “mistake” and said she believed Indira herself eventually came to feel the same way.“I know that many would laugh at this, but I believe she was never comfortable in the course of the emergency. I think it was sitting heavy on her,” the ex-Congress president said.Sonia said the Gandhi family was “split on the decision” to impose the Emergency.According to the newspaper’s account, her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, opposed the move and advised his mother to wait for the next election. Her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, reportedly pushed for a tougher response to the Opposition.At a family dinner, Sanjay is said to have warned Indira that the Opposition would destroy her, telling her, “They must be stopped”. His influence over his mother became a major source of public controversy.Sonia recalled that the decision “inflamed tensions” within the family. Rajiv reportedly tried to confront his mother, but she refused to listen.“Keeping Sanjay in check could have prevented much of the damage that followed,” it quoted from her book.
Recalling the trauma of assassinations
Sonia also spoke about the personal trauma of losing her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991. She struggled to recall how she carried on after his death, with her daughter Priyanka also joining the conversation at her residence.She recalled the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, when she heard what sounded like fireworks before seeing her mother-in-law’s body covered in blood and bullet wounds. Indira had been shot by two of her bodyguards.Sonia described trying to revive her as they rushed her to hospital.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
“There was blood everywhere, and I realised she wasn’t replying to my questions. It seemed as if she had already gone,” she remembered.She described the journey to the hospital as “excruciating”. Despite the relatively light traffic, the drive seemed painfully slow. She said she knew Indira might already be dead because she was no longer responding.Sonia also recalled the trauma and depression that followed, saying she lived “like a ghost”. The conversation touched on Rajiv’s private expression of grief during that difficult period.