BJP attacks Sonia Gandhi over Memoir, calls it ‘whitewashing’ of Nehru-Gandhi family’s past

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday launched a broadside against Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi over her newly released memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, accusing her of attempting to whitewash the Nehru-Gandhi family's political record and downplay the Emergency.

BJP national spokesperson C.R. Kesavan said the book would have been more appropriately titled Whitewashing, alleging that it sought to cover up the historical wrongs committed by the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress.

“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 after Sonia Gandhi described the Emergency imposed by her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in 1975 as a mistake. She also suggested that much of the damage could have been avoided had Indira Gandhi kept her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, “in check”.

Kesavan accused her 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.

He also questioned her references to the Babri Masjid demolition, the 1984 anti-Sikh violence and the 2008 Batla House encounter, alleging that the Congress leadership had shown selective concern over incidents involving different communities.

“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 further questioned whether Sonia Gandhi had expressed similar concern for those killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

“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.

The BJP spokesperson also raised questions about a reported meeting between Sonia Gandhi and former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh before the publication of his 2014 autobiography, One Life Is Not Enough.

Natwar Singh had written about 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 her daughter Priyanka had met him before the book's publication and discussed the portions dealing with that period.

Kesavan questioned why the meeting had taken place after a gap of eight-and-a-half years and what Sonia Gandhi was apprehensive about.

“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.

Kangana Ranaut questions Gandhi family's political history

BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut also targeted Sonia Gandhi in a strongly worded post on Instagram Stories, describing events surrounding the Gandhi family as “way too many coincidences”.

Ranaut said she had researched Indian politics and the Gandhi family while working on her 2025 directorial film Emergency. Referring to the ongoing discussion around the Nvidia honey-trap controversy, she wrote: “Everyone is talking about the Nvidia honey trap controversy.”

She then questioned Sonia Gandhi's entry into the Gandhi family and referred to the deaths of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, as well as Sanjay Gandhi.

“Indira Gandhi killed, Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, all potential heirs to the throne killed, leaving just one and only sympathy choice for the throne: that one foreign national called Sonia Gandhi,” Ranaut wrote.

She described the sequence of events as involving “way too many coincidences” and accused Sonia Gandhi of promoting foreign interests. Ranaut also referred to the 2014 general elections, when the BJP won 282 seats under Narendra Modi, while the Congress was reduced to 44.

Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 26, 2014, succeeding Manmohan Singh.

Sirsa, Sandhu question Sonia Gandhi's account of 1984

Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also rejected Sonia Gandhi's account of the events surrounding Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, calling it a “lie”.

Addressing a press conference, Sirsa disputed the memoir's account that Indira Gandhi had expressed grief after the Army operation at the Golden Temple. He also rejected the suggestion that Rajiv Gandhi had been deeply affected by the violence that followed Indira Gandhi's assassination.

“This statement coming from Sonia Gandhi ji that Rajiv Gandhi was very sad and grieving after the 1984 Sikh massacre, all of this is a lie. If she is lying to fulfil her moral obligation as a wife, that is a different matter. But Rajiv Gandhi orchestrated all of it... Sonia Gandhi is only talking about shedding crocodile tears, whereas the reality is that Rajiv Gandhi rewarded the very people who massacred Sikhs,” Sirsa alleged.

He further accused Indira Gandhi of having no remorse over the Army operation at the Golden Temple.

“She (Indira Gandhi) had no sorrow whatsoever. In a calculated manner, she worked to tear down Sri Darbar Sahib, the holy shrine of Sikhs... Now, atonement cannot be made with these fake tears. The blood of thousands of people is smeared on their hands. Those bloodstains cannot be washed away. Writing these false books is their family's moral compulsion, but the entire nation knows the truth,” he said.

Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu also questioned whether the regret attributed to Indira Gandhi in the memoir was genuine.

He said the book described Indira Gandhi as having tears in her eyes after seeing photographs of the damage at Darbar Sahib, but asked who would take responsibility for the operation.

“Was that regret genuinely about the injustice inflicted on the Sikhs, or was it simply about a political decision that went wrong? If there was genuine sympathy and concern for the Sikhs... then why was a planned massacre of Sikhs carried out after Indira Gandhi's death? Why were their houses identified and marked before the killings? And why has the Congress party continued to protect those responsible for the massacre?” Sandhu said.

Giriraj Singh targets Sonia over Nehru, Modi remarks

Union Minister Giriraj Singh also attacked Sonia Gandhi over the memoir, alleging that she had “no love for India” and accusing her of selectively expressing concern over incidents involving different communities.

Reacting to her account of the Babri Masjid demolition and the Batla House encounter, Singh said Congress leaders had remained silent over incidents such as the Godhra train burning and the killing of Hindus in Pahalgam.

“Tears only well up in their eyes when incidents like the Babri [Masjid demolition] or the Batla House [encounter] occur, but when an incident like Godhra happens, their tears dry up. In Pahalgam, Hindu Sanatani brothers and sisters were targeted and shot, after being asked specifically whether they were Hindu, by Pakistani terrorists. Why don't she shed tears then?” he told ANI.

Singh also referred to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's reported remarks on minorities and national resources, alleging that the Congress's concerns were driven by vote-bank politics.

He questioned why Sonia Gandhi had not used her memoir to discuss what he described as Jawaharlal Nehru's historical mistakes, including India's handling of Tibet, China's entry into the United Nations Security Council and the introduction of Articles 370 and 35A.

“Perhaps Sonia-ji should have written about Pandit Nehru's 'achievements' like how he handed Tibet over to China, how he facilitated China's entry as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, or how he introduced Articles 370 and 35A. She should have mentioned all of this, including how he surrendered 40,000 square kilometers of land to China, dismissing it by saying, 'Nothing grows there anyway',” Singh said.

He also defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Sonia Gandhi's reported observation that he was unable to look people in the eye.

“The Prime Minister looks the country's enemies straight in the eye when he speaks to them. It does not matter how powerful they might be, whether it is China, Pakistan, or any other nation in the world,” Singh said.

On Sonia Gandhi's account of the formation of the UPA government in 2004, when she said she stepped aside from the Prime Minister's post after listening to her conscience, Singh dismissed her version as “lies”.

He also made allegations about her citizenship and her decision to retain her Italian passport, claiming that she had acquired Indian citizenship only after becoming certain that the Gandhi family could secure the Prime Minister's post.

“But Sonia-ji's true face has been revealed - the reality that she has no love for India. She has no love for the followers of the Sanatana tradition in India. She does have love, though. She has love for the invaders, and for the Muslim 'vote bank' in this country. Her strategy is: divide the Hindus along caste lines, and secure the Muslim vote,” Singh alleged.

Asked to rate the memoir out of 10, Singh responded sarcastically, “I'd give it two or four hundred points, because she has exposed her own true face and revealed her actual mindset.”

Congress leaders defend memoir

Congress leader Rajeev Shukla defended Sonia Gandhi, saying the memoir reflected her personal experiences and should not be turned into a political controversy.

“I actually came here to buy Sonia-ji's book. There is quite a crowd, and many people are purchasing it. As for the book itself, she is perhaps the first person in the family, after Nehru-ji, to write an autobiography. She has laid out her thoughts and reflected on her life's journey,” he said.

Shukla added that readers should respect her views and the emotions she had expressed.

“I believe people should respect her views and value the emotions she has expressed; this should not be a matter of controversy. It shouldn't be turned into one. She has written about what she felt, which is a very good thing. That is the hallmark of a good autobiography - to be open and candid about everything. She has done exactly that. People should recognise that these are her personal reflections,” he said.

The memoir, published by HarperCollins India, went on sale on Tuesday. It traces Sonia Gandhi's journey from her childhood in post-war Italy and her romance with Rajiv Gandhi at Cambridge to her life in India and the personal losses that shaped her relationship with the country, including the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

The book has triggered a political row, with the BJP accusing her of attempting to whitewash the Congress's past. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has described her remarks on the 1984 violence as a political statement, while Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Rajeev Shukla have defended her account and urged the BJP not to give the memoir a political spin.

(With agencies' inputs)