Ahluwalia writes to Sonia in Italian

“Probably she did not understand the situation because the first two letters were in English. And she understands neither Hindi nor English. “So I thought the best way would be to convey the message in her mother tongue itself,” says Ahluwalia.

Senior party leaders have dismissed Ahluwalia’s latest missive– the third since October 31– as a publicity stunt. The two-page letter was sent to her on Thursday.

“I hope she will respond positively to my latest effort, before the State elections. Expressing empathy with the anguish of the people is the need of the hour. Whatever I am telling her is not the interest of the Nehru-Gandhi legacy, as of the party” Ahluwalia told The Indian Express.

As was expected of him, Ahulwalia has persisted with his earlier demands:

apologise to the Sikhs for Operation Bluestar, and weed out from the party leaders like H K L Bhagat and others who were allegedly involved in the November 1984 riots.

But this time, he has openly criticised Sonia on two counts: for comparing 1947 riots with the 1984 massacre of Sikhs (which she made recently, during an election speech in Delhi), and for bringing West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu on par with B.C. Roy.

“1947,” the party President is told ,“was the year of Sikhs’ martyrdom for the motherland. None of them wanted to leave Punjab. But 1984 was their senseless massacre. The two events can never be compared. As for B C Roy, he was the crerator of Bengal, while Jyoti Basu has destroyed it.”

Hitting out at the “pseudo-intellectuals and advisors who probably prepare your election speeches”, Ahluwalia has told Sonia that “these people have no understanding of Indianculture or history.”

Even as reports are surfacing about Ahluwalia hobnobbing with the BJP he, of course, denies the charge the Congress leadership has, more or less, decided to ignore him. Early this month, Madhav Rao Scindia sent a show-cause notice to Ahluwalia (after he fired the first salvo at Sonia), but it was not followed up. Also promptly forgotten, was a Congress spokesperson’s assurance of initiating disciplinary action against him.

But the latest provocation, say some Congressmen, whereby Ahluwalia has sought to discredit Sonia by dubbing her as an Italian, may finally invite a strong enough retaliation. Ahluwalia, on the other hand, says he is stuck with the course he has taken and there can be no looking back.