Sonia Gandhi says attacks have made son Rahul brave

Speaking after Singh, who asked to be forgiven in case he became emotional, Sonia mentioned the challenges the Congress faced today — while recalling that when she took over iin 1998, the party ruled only three states, and was far from forming a government at the Centre.

“Never before have we faced the challenge that we face today. The fundamentals of our Constitution are under attack. Our party has lost several state elections. But an exemplary energy fires our Congress workers. We are not ones to bend in fear, because our struggle is a fight for the very soul of this nation. We will never retreat from this fight,” she said.

She had never wanted to enter politics, Sonia said. While Indira Gandhi’s assassination changed “forever the course of (her) life”, with her husband’s assassination, she had lost her “anchor and support”, and gone into a shell, she said. Rajiv had accepted the post of Prime Minister as a duty, “despite (her) pleas”, Sonia said.

“It was many years later that I could emerge from my shell. Only when I came to feel that the Congress was facing a crisis, and that communal forces were gaining strength, did I feel compelled to respond to the call of the party workers. I felt that my turning away from this summons would negate the sacrifice of my mother-in-law’s life and my husband’s life. So I entered politics — to fulfill a duty to my family, party and country.”

She recalled how the Congress had regained its strength post-1998 “with all your continued efforts”, and one after the other formed governments in more than two dozen states.

But today, she said, “we are all witness to the daily attacks against freedom of speech and expression, against our culture of diversity, and its replacement with an atmosphere of suspicion and fear. The Congress must look within in order to forge ahead. If we do not stand by our principles, we will not be able to wage this fight.”

The outgoing president also spoke about her successor. “He is my son, and it would not be appropriate for me to praise him. But this much I will say — while from his very childhood he has borne the experience of violence, the savage personal attacks he has confronted since entering politics has made him a brave and stout-hearted man. I am proud of his endurance and firmness, and I am confident he will lead the party with a pure heart, patience and devotion,” she said.

Manmohan Singh described Saturday as a “unique day in the history of the Congress Party”. “You will forgive me if I become somewhat emotional on this historic occasion. I recall in a letter that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to Indira Gandhi advising her that in the affairs of the state one cannot be sentimental, though one should be full of sentiment. However, I seek your forgiveness for not being able to resist an element of sentimentality…”
He recalled his association with Sonia, both as a member of the Congress Working Committee and as Prime Minister for a decade, saying her powerful leadership would be remembered in the history of the party.

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“Now, that Soniaji is handing over the reins of Congress president to Rahulji, we salute Soniaji for the magnificent leadership that she has provided in the last 19 years,” Singh said. Rahul, he added, would bring to the office “a new sense of dedication, a new sense of commitment, a new sense of looking after the leadership role with courage and humility”.

While Sonia gave no indication of her plans for the future, merely saying that “as all of you go forward on your new path, I will be there to rejoice in your achievements”, Priyanka Vadra said her mother would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli. The Congress has already made it clear that Sonia had retired as Congress president, and not from politics.

“There is no question of me contesting… my mother will contest from there (Rae Bareli),” Priyanka told reporters when asked whether she would contest from her mother’s seat in 2019. She called her mother the “bravest” woman for overcoming huge difficulties during her 19-year tenure as Congress president.