Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 28 (PTI) Ministers in Keralam on Friday backed Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi amid a controversy over the publication of her memoir, ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, in India.
The reactions came after Penguin Random House India said it was not the publisher of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir.
Earlier this month, American publisher Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced that the book would be released on November 10.
The statement came after a report in The Indian Express claimed that the publisher had backed out after Gandhi refused to make “editorial changes” to the manuscript.
Higher Education Minister Roji M John, in a Facebook post, praised Sonia Gandhi for refusing to alter her memoir and recalled the personal tragedies she had faced, including the assassinations of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
John said Sonia Gandhi had initially sought to stay away from politics but later took up the leadership of the Congress due to circumstances.
He highlighted her decision in 2004 to decline the prime minister’s post and propose Manmohan Singh for the position.
“Despite the allegations that followed her throughout her life, criticism of her as a foreigner even after she had lived as an Indian in every sense, and the immense personal losses she suffered, Sonia Gandhi lived an almost unfiltered and unedited life,” John said.
“A person needs extraordinary courage to document their own life without softening words or whitewashing it for personal gain. Sonia Gandhi has that courage—the extraordinary courage to remain an open book,” he added.
Revenue Minister A P Anil Kumar also defended Sonia Gandhi, describing her life as part of India’s political history that could not be rewritten.
In a Facebook post, Anil Kumar said Sonia Gandhi’s memoir was not merely the autobiography of a political leader but a record of a life marked by personal loss, sacrifice and political challenges.
Recalling the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, he said Sonia Gandhi had faced immense personal tragedies before later taking up the leadership of the Congress.
“Everyone can walk towards power. But very few in history can step away from the door of power,” he said.
Anil Kumar said a person’s lived experiences could not simply be edited or rewritten.
“Is there an edit for pain? Is there a rewrite for sacrifice? Is there a revision for the wounds of history?” he asked, adding that refusing to alter the truth of one’s own life was “a responsibility towards history”. PTI TBA SSK
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