Rajiv Gandhi did not use power to create an atmosphere of fear or threaten and scare :Sonia Gandhi
NEW DELHI : Asserting that electoral ups and downs are inevitable, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said Rajiv Gandhi got a massive poll mandate in 1984, but did not use it to create an atmosphere of fear, threaten and scare people or destroy institutions, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said on Thursday, in an apparent swipe at the Narendra Modi government.
“In 1984, he (Rajiv Gandhi) won an unprecedented mandate, but did not use that power to create an atmosphere of fear or threaten and scare,” Sonia Gandhi said.
The former prime minister did not use that power to destroy the independence of institutions, trample on divergent views and create dangers for democratic traditions, she said in her first public address after taking over as the Congress’s interim president earlier this month.
She said challenges facing the party are formidable but it must continue its ideological struggle against forces of divisiveness.
Addressing an event marking Rajiv Gandhi’s 75th birth anniversary, Sonia Gandhi said in 1984 her husband got a massive poll mandate, but did not use it to create an atmosphere of fear or to threaten people.
As prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi gave the message that unity can be maintained by celebrating India’s diversity, she said.
Sonia Gandhi said the former prime minister’s 75th birth anniversary is not a ritual being marked by the Congress, but an occasion to reaffirm its resolve to uphold the values that inspired him
Her remarks assume significance as they come after senior Congress leader and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI in connection with the INX Media case, with the grand old party accusing the government of using central agencies such as the CBI and the ED as personal “revenge-seeking departments”.
“In 1989, the Congress did not get a majority on its own, so he (Rajiv Gandhi) politely accepted the mandate of the people. I want to tell the present generation that despite (Congress) being the biggest political party at the time, he did not lay claim to power. This was because his inner moral force and honesty did not allow him to do so,” Sonia Gandhi said.
“It is an occasion for us individually and collectively to reaffirm our resolve to continue to uphold the values that inspired him, to stand up and confront the forces that are determined to destroy those values,” the UPA chairperson said.
