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Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has articulated a stark ideological divergence between her political philosophy and that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, framing their long-standing rivalry not as a personal feud, but as a battle over their respective visions of India.
In her memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', Gandhi stated that PM Modi's idea of India was constructed by the ideologues of the RSS and the experience of his own growing up. "We come from different ideological worlds; his idea of this country is vastly different from mine. All I learnt about India was assimilated from the members of my family, their lives of service, and their faith in a nation that encompassed a host of races and cultures, languages and faiths, based on principles of liberty and equality for all,," she wrote in the memoir. Sonia Gandhi further highlighted that she was fighting for a nation that stands for inclusiveness, secularism, and social justice. "Narendra Modis idea of India was constructed by the ideologues of the RSS and the experience of his own growing up. It affirmed a fundamentalism in which his faith and culture superseded all others. In that India, hierarchy, order, and control are central. He was fighting for his vision of India, and I for mine: an India against hegemony, an India that stands for inclusiveness, secularism, and social justice," she noted. "Narendra Damodardas Modi has been the prime minister of India for more than twelve years as of this writing and is now in his third term in office. To this day, Ive had practically no real contact with him. We meet at semi-official gatheringsfor instance, at the end of every Parliament session, when leaders of the major parties customarily gather at the Speakers chamber. Its a very small room, and usually many people are present, but when he comes face-to-face with me, we greet each other with a formal namaste. This is different from the past, when leaders across party divides would treat one another with cordiality," she adds. Furthermore, she revisited the 2002 Gujarat riots, which broke out during PM Modi's tenure as the Gujarat Chief Minister in 2002, following the Godhra train tragedy which shook the nation. She highlighted that the Sabarmati Express was returning to Ahmedabad from Ayodhya. It caught fire, killing 59 pilgrims, with a large number of Muslims on board. "When I was leader of the opposition in Parliament, I met the victims of many tragedies, and each time I was haunted by the misery I had witnessed. In 2002, the state of Gujarat was ravaged by communal riots; much of the carnage was televised live with the advent of cable TV and shook the country with its fearsome images. The riots were triggered when four coaches of the Sabarmati Express were set on fire, and fifty-nine pilgrims died. The train was returning to the state capital Ahmedabad from Ayodhya carrying Hindu kar sevaksvolunteers for the Ram temple. The cause of the fire remains disputed, but the turmoil that followed spread to many parts of the state, and the victims were overwhelmingly Muslims," she stated. She recalled the harrowing incident, saying that the administration witnessed the live reports in complete horror. "We watched the live reports in horror, and tried to get help to our colleagues in Gujarat who were calling us in desperation, but the administration failed to respond. The riots were said to have been fuelled by a fanatical fringe of the BJP and RSS, the Bajrang Dal. The chief minister of the state at the time was Narendra Modi," she said. Gandhi's memoirs "Belonging: A Journey of Love" has hit the bookstores across the country on Tuesday. (ANI)
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