‘It will take time to restore our systems’: Sonia Gandhi on 12 years of Modi rule

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has said it will take considerable time and effort to restore the country’s institutions and democratic systems after what she described as the “great damage” caused by the Modi government over the past 12 years.

In an interview with The Hindu’s N Ram ahead of the release of her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, on November 10, the former Congress president said the damage had affected the fabric of the country, its democracy and its institutions.

She said people were beginning to recognise the extent of the damage and were increasingly restless. However, she expressed optimism about the country’s future, saying people would welcome a return to proper governance. “Even after this government goes, it will take time to restore our systems to health and great effort from political parties,” she said.

Assessment of Congress party

Asked about the decline of the Congress and her assessment of its present condition and prospects, Sonia said, "I am not so pessimistic. Consider that the Congress party and other opposition parties have not had a level playing field since this government came to power.

Also read: Sonia Gandhi: Bound to be 'tamasha' when my book comes out

"Take into account the complete stranglehold they have on all institutions, especially the Election Commission, their control of mainstream media, their money power and their exploitation of religion."

"Yet, our party is fighting and making progress; in fact, it is the only party that has had the resilience to withstand this onslaught," Sonia said.

She alleged that Congress workers and leaders "have faced persecution of all kinds". "And yet, in every village and every district, Congressmen and women are still fighting for the values enshrined in our Constitution," she said.

"What is more, it has been amply proved in recent months that many elections have been stolen, and people are now more aware of it," she alleged. "The Congress is working with like-minded parties, and our prospects are improving day by day," she said.

Lessons from Modi

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi and what lessons the Congress should draw from his rise, Sonia said, "It's true that he comes from a very different ideological world. But there are many ways that people succeed in politics within the Congress party, take for example Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. I don't think we have much to learn from the RSS."

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On whether she wonders how UPA policies and Congress strategy might have differed had she accepted to become prime minister in 2004, Gandhi said, "No, not at all. That has never crossed my mind. Our experience was by and large a very positive one. We worked as a team, and our roles were distinct, with him (Singh) leading the government and I leading the party."

Emergency excesses

Speaking about the Emergency, Sonia has said Sanjay Gandhi should not be held solely responsible for the excesses during the Emergency, pointing to pressure from some of the senior colleagues of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Sonia added that there were a few people around Indira Gandhi, including her husband Rajiv Gandhi, who held a different view. She added that Rajiv would bring complaints and feedback to his mother, who eventually understood the situation and took corrective action.

Sonia acknowledged that democratic rights had been curtailed during the Emergency, including the suspension of habeas corpus, but said the measures were imposed constitutionally. Recalling the period, she cited violent protests, arson and widespread unrest as some of the circumstances that preceded the declaration. She also noted that Indira Gandhi eventually called the March 1977 elections and publicly expressed regret and apologised for the excesses.

‘A journey of love’

'Belonging: A Journey of Love', published by HarperCollins India, is a personal memoir, with politics providing the background or "a kind of framework", as she puts it in the book.

Last month, Sonia had said that others have spent decades telling her story and now it's her turn. She had also said there is bound to be some "tamasha" when her memoir comes out on November 10.

Also read: ‘His gentleness touched me’: Sonia recalls first meeting with Rajiv

HarperCollins India will publish Gandhi's 544-page memoir "Belonging: A Journey of Love" in India on November 10, ending the uncertainty over the book's domestic publication following an "impasse" between the author's representatives and Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

Memoir controversy

PRHI, initially keen to publish the memoir, later said it would not be the Indian publisher.

The controversy began amid reports of differences between the publisher and the author's representatives over editorial changes to the manuscript.

Several Congress leaders had raised issues of governmental pressure and freedom of expression, with some alleging that there was pressure on Penguin India to remove sections relating to Prime Minister Modi, the RSS and China's "occupation" of Indian territory during the Modi regime.

PRHI clarified that they were "really keen" to publish the book, describing it as a "hard-won acquisition", but ultimately decided to step away due to a "stalemate over a particular issue".

While maintaining there was no external pressure whatsoever, PRHI declined to disclose the exact nature of the impasse, citing confidentiality clauses and their agreement with the author.