Sonia Gandhi's memoir, Belonging, says a 1986 court order unlocking the Babri Masjid gates in Ayodhya revived a long-quiet dispute. She also writes that Rajiv Gandhi's Ram Rajya idea, meant to counter the BJP and RSS, fell flat.
Journalist Neerja Chowdhury's account says the government was worried about Hindu anger over the Shah Bano judgment, and that Arun Nehru pushed for the locks to be opened.
The move did not help at the polls. In 1989 Congress won 197 seats, the most of any party, but lost its majority, down from 404 seats in 1984.
BJP MP Tarun Chugh has criticised Sam Pitroda, chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, over his remarks on the 1984 riots against Sikhs. Chugh accused him of trying to shield the Gandhi family and objected to his call to forget the violence, which took place 40 years ago.
The row follows Pitroda's defence of Sonia Gandhi's memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, which went on sale on Tuesday. He called it a personal account rather than a political document, and denied that it whitewashes the 1984 riots, the Emergency and the Babri Masjid demolition.
Indian Overseas Congress head Sam Pitroda has spoken warmly about PM Narendra Modi, saying he holds him in personal regard even though the two differ sharply on politics.
In an interview, Pitroda called Modi hardworking and said the Prime Minister has been very friendly and caring toward him personally. Asked about Sonia Gandhi's earlier description of Modi as a strong speaker, Pitroda said he sees Modi as a friend from Gujarat who wishes him well.
Pitroda said his disagreements are with Modi's view of the world and his ideology, not with the man himself.
Sonia Gandhi stepped back into public life in January 1998 with a speech at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, where her husband Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. The address kicked off the Congress party's campaign for the 1999 polls.
She said she had stayed out of politics since his death, but now felt it was time to come forward with her concerns about where India stands. She warned against parties that stoke religious, caste and regional divisions, and called Congress the only truly national party able to deliver steady rule.
In her memoir, Sonia Gandhi says neither she nor Rahul Gandhi got any money from the National Herald revival. She accuses the BJP and RSS of acting as both prosecutor and judge against opposition leaders.
Rahul Gandhi has faced at least 30 cases across eight states, and a 2023 defamation conviction over a rally remark cost him his Parliament seat.
The revival was structured as a non-profit, yet a criminal conspiracy case was brought in 2015 and the Enforcement Directorate later launched its own prosecution. The matter is still in court more than twelve years on.
BJP workers in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, burned effigies and shouted slogans at a peaceful protest against Sonia Gandhi's recently released memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.
The protest was led by MP Anil Firojiya and Ravi Solanki, head of the Ujjain Development Authority. Firojiya said the book reportedly covers Gandhi's distress over the Babri Masjid demolition but ignores the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
He also accused the Congress of divisive politics since 1947 and said he expects voters to keep it out of power in upcoming polls.
Congress leader Sandeep Dixit has thanked Sonia Gandhi for writing about his mother, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, in her memoir. He accused the BJP of blowing up every point raised about the book.
The memoir alleges that the BJP and RSS quietly ran the 2012 Anna Hazare anti-corruption campaign to bring down the UPA government.
On the 1984 riots, Dixit said Sangh members and several BJP leaders were involved, with cases against some of them, and that courts will decide the truth.
Sonia Gandhi has rejected claims that she secretly ran the Manmohan Singh government. In her memoir, she says she never reviewed files kept by the PMO or meddled in administration.
She calls the charge that hurt her most, that she could view government files while holding no executive role, untrue. The book also describes friction within the UPA, including Pranab Mukherjee's apparent wish to become prime minister.
She also says the National Advisory Council she chaired was purely advisory.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh has attacked Sonia Gandhi over her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, which came out on Tuesday. He claimed her account of crying after the Babri Masjid incident shows she sheds tears only for Muslim votes.
Singh said her sympathy vanishes when Pakistani militants kill Indians or when Naxalites carry out killings of Sanatanis. He also responded to her note that Prime Minister Modi avoids meeting her gaze, saying Modi looks straight at Pakistan and India's enemies while talking to them.
BJP leader HS Phoolka has disputed Sonia Gandhi's account of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love. He says her claim that troops were sent in on October 31 is false.
Phoolka cited the Misra Commission, which he said found the Army was called only on November 1 and reached Delhi a day later. The commission also noted that 5,000 soldiers in Delhi were not deployed, and that 2,000 Sikh lives could have been saved.
He also doubts the memoir's depiction of Indira Gandhi's emotional reaction to Operation Blue Star, and plans to check the book for discrepancies.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari has challenged Sonia Gandhi over the Bofors arms scandal, saying her new memoir has brought it back into focus. He claims Congress has stayed silent and wants to know how Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Ottavio Quattrocchi were linked.
He also said the book dwells on the Babri Masjid issue while skipping Bofors questions.
A 1986 contract for 155 mm howitzers, worth about $1.4 billion, later drew bribery claims. The Supreme Court closed the case in August 2026 without a criminal conviction.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi says the Modi government has badly weakened India's democracy and institutions over 12 years, and repairing them will take time even after it leaves.
In an interview, she said opposition parties are competing on an uneven field and alleged that a number of elections were won unfairly.
Her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, comes out on November 10. A BJP MLA from Maharashtra said the book is less a life story and more a push to promote her son Rahul Gandhi's failed political launches.
News India Xtra@newsIndiaxtra
