Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra struck back at the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday, mounting a fierce defense of Sonia Gandhi's newly published memoir and accusing the ruling party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of manufacturing falsehoods for decades.
Speaking during her first constituency tour of Wayanad since the November 10 launch of Belonging: A Journey of Love, the newly elected parliamentarian dismissed political attacks targeting her mother's political reflections. Her defense landed with sharp precision. Sonia Gandhi had kept quiet for decades. She chose silence. Now, the record changes.
For the whole of my mother's adult life in India, the BJP, RSS and many others have said whatever they wanted about my mother. They have lied, they have fabricated stories and also invented stories about her, and she has been quiet. Now, she is telling her story, and she has the right to do so. It is good that they are ready to read it. For so long, they have been telling lies about my mother, and now she is telling the truth. I am happy they are reading her book.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Lok Sabha MP for Wayanad
Sonia Gandhi's memoir chronicles her private life alongside her decades inside national politics, reigniting intense sparring between the Congress party and the BJP. Leaders from the ruling BJP launched a concerted assault on the book, charging that the former Congress president attempted to whitewash contentious periods of modern Indian governance. Among the specific flashpoints cited by the BJP are the 1975–1977 Emergency and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Congress leaders pushed back immediately. They asserted that the former party president holds every constitutional and personal right to chronicle her own experiences, her marriage, and the crises that reshuffled Indian power over the past half-century.
| Political Parameter | Official Record |
|---|---|
| Subject Title | Belonging: A Journey of Love |
| Publication Date | November 10 |
| Primary Defending Official | Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Lok Sabha MP |
| Key Opposition Objections | Portrayal of the Emergency & 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots |
| Lok Sabha Seat Origin | 2024 By-Election Win (Vacated by Rahul Gandhi) |
Priyanka Gandhi's political counter-offensive unfolded on the ground across Wayanad during a three-day official tour focused on infrastructure inspections and community outreach. In Mananthavady, she visited the residence of the late Padma Shri recipient and traditional seed conservationist Cheruvayal Raman, meeting his surviving family to pay personal tributes to his ecological preservation legacy.
Her schedule shifted next to civic governance. She slated inspections to inaugurate two Smart Anganwadis located in Kammana and Thrissillery, while conducting broader progress reviews on pending public projects across the district.
Priyanka Gandhi entered the Lok Sabha following her victory in the 2024 Wayanad parliamentary by-election, a seat opened when her brother Rahul Gandhi vacated the Kerala constituency to retain his mandate in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. She will conclude her three-day constituency tour with further review meetings covering civic works across the district.