Wayanad: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of spreading falsehoods about her mother, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, for years, saying they were now questioning her account in a recently released memoir.
"For most of my mother's adult life in India, the BJP, RSS, and many others have said whatever they wanted to say about her. They have told lies, they have fabricated stories, they have completely invented things and she has been quiet. Now she is telling her story. She has a right to tell her story," the Wayanad MP said.
Priyanka was responding to reporters' questions about the BJP's criticism of her mother's book.
"For so long they have been telling lies about my mother. Now she is telling the truth. So obviously they are going to say that (it is false). What else can they say. Anyways, I am very happy they are reading her book," she added.
The BJP on Tuesday accused Sonia Gandhi of attempting to "justify" the imposition of the Emergency in 1975 and giving a "clean chit" to her late husband, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The party also said her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, should have been titled "whitewashing".
Sonia Gandhi's memoir was released on Tuesday, drawing both positive and negative reactions to its contents.
The ruling party also alleged that the book exposed her real face, claiming that her "tears flow for Muslim votes only" but dry up when Pakistani terrorists kill Indians and Naxalites carry out "massacre of Sanatanis".
Responding to the criticism, Priyanka said her mother had used the book to explain her perspective and share what she wanted to say.
"Everyone has their own personal point of view. Everyone has their own story, right," she added.