'She has right to tell her story': Priyanka hits back at BJP over mother Sonia Gandhi's memoir

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said that her mother, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, “has a right to tell her story”, saying that many people have said “whatever they want” about her for a long time.

This comes amid the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacking Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s book, Belonging: A Journey of Love, alleging that the memoir sought to “whitewash” the wrongs committed by the Nehru-Gandhi family.

"Well, look, for the whole of my mother's life, her adult life in India, the BJP, the RSS, many, many people, everybody has said whatever they wanted about my mother. They have told lies; they have fabricated stories. They have completely invented things, and she has been quiet,” Priyanka Gandhi told the media during her visit to her parliamentary constituency in Keralam.

The memoir, which recounts Sonia’s childhood in post-war Italy, meeting Rajiv Gandhi at Cambridge, her life in India, and her bond with the country, went on sale on Tuesday.

The Wayanad MP said that her mother had a right to tell her story, which she was doing through her book.

“Now, she's telling her story. So, she has a right to tell her story. It's good they are reading it. What else do you expect them to say? For so long they have been telling lies about my mother. Now she's telling the truth, so obviously they're going to say that. What else can they say? Anyway, I am very happy they're reading her book," Priyanka said.

BJP’s attack

The BJP launched attacks referring to Sonia Gandhi’s accounts in the book, including the post-Operation Blue Star reflections, anti-Sikh riots, her references to the Babri Masjid, the Batla House encounter, and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Union minister Giriraj Singh took a swipe at Sonia for noting in her memoir that Prime Minister Narendra Modi tends to look away whenever he comes face-to-face with her.

“With how many people will he make eye contact? He has already made eye contact once,” he said.

Targeting the reference to the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, BJP leader HS Phoolka, a prominent lawyer who fought cases for Sikh victims, said in a press conference: “In her book, she (Sonia) has attempted to grant a self-clean chit to her own family—even regarding the massacre of Sikhs...”

“This account is entirely contrary to the facts...in her book, Sonia Gandhi attempts to absolve Rajiv Gandhi and their family. This stands in direct contradiction to the official record. It is an absolute lie,” the BJP leader said.

Congress rebuttal

Responding to the BJP’s criticism over Operation Blue Star, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari accused the ruling party of “scratching old wounds” ahead of the Punjab assembly elections.

“The Sikh community was hurt, and everyone apologised to the community. This is in the past. But as there are going to be elections in Punjab, out of habit BJP is scratching old wounds. They are attempting to benefit from it,” Tiwari told ANI.

Congress MP Jebi Mather referred to Sonia in describing the criticism as a “tamasha”.

“For somebody as bold as Sonia Gandhi, she has the courage to speak the truth...Let her have the right to say that. For the BJP, everything is an agenda,” she said.