A day after veteran Congress leader Margaret Alva was appointed as the Vice-Presidential candidate by the United Opposition, a video clip of her interview with India Today has gone viral on social media.
The contentious interview was given by her to ‘journalist’ Karan Thapar in July 2016. Margaret Alva had accused Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi of insulting former Indian Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.
Thapar said, “There is a real sense from your book that Sonia Gandhi got her revenge. You were General Secretary and you saw how Narasimha Rao’s body was treated by Congress and Sonia was then Congress President.”
Congress’ Vice President Nominee Margaret Alva Exposing
— Political Kida (@PoliticalKida) July 18, 2022
How Sonia Gandhi Insulted Dead Body Of PV Narasimha Rao pic.twitter.com/I7dsijJpso
“The gun carriage bearing Narasimha’s body was not allowed to enter the AICC headquarters. Instead, it was parked on the pavement outside the gates, with chairs for party leaders outside the gate,” he read out an excerpt from Margaret Alva’s book titled ‘Courage & Commitment: An Autobiography.’
The Vice-Presidential nominee had clarified, “Whatever the differences, he had been the Prime Minister, Congress President, Chief Minister and party’s General Secretary. He had done a wonderful job, except for the Babri Masjid and the mess up with it.”
“When a man is dead, you don’t treat him that way. And I was hurt. I have always regretted not walking away on that occasion but I did not want to insult his body by walking away,” she informed.
Margaret Alva, however, conceded that she did not raise the issue with Sonia Gandhi and had only confided about it to her party colleagues. “This is not the way to treat a dead leader,” she said.
During the interview, she also revealed that there is no picture of PV Narasimha Rao in the Congress headquarters, although the walls are adorned with pictures of other party leaders.
The veteran Congress politician also nodded in affirmation when Karan Thapar pointed out that Narasimha Rao was not given the honour of a cremation or burial in the National Capital.
Indignities meted out to PV Narsimha Rao under Congress
It is not a hidden fact that Sonia Gandhi loathed P.V. Narasimha Rao enough to not allow his mortal remains to enter the AICC (All India Congress Committee) compound. His body stayed parked in a carriage outside the gate.
PV Narasimha Rao, who Manmohan Singh hails as the “father of economic reforms in India” did not even receive a state funeral. In fact, a leader like Sanjay Gandhi, who presided over horrendous programs such as forced sterilisation during the Emergency was honoured with a state funeral and a samadhi in Delhi.
However, PV Narasimha Rao was not considered by the Congress leadership, headed by Sonia Gandhi, of worthy enough to deserve a state funeral and a samadhi in Delhi. Sonia Gandhi, it is believed, was ‘upset‘ about the way the investigation of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination had proceeded.
Even before his demise, Rao was subjected to humiliation and abasement that did not seem proper for a senior AICC member and the former Prime Minister of India. Rao passed away on 23rd December 2004.
On 27th December 2004, M D Nalapat, an Indian academic and columnist wrote (emphasis added): “In fact, despite being a former AICC president and a prime minister, Narasimha Rao was not just excluded from the Congress Working Committee since the current heir to the Nehru dynasty took charge of the party in 1998, he was not even allowed to become one of the numerous ‘special invitees’, most of whom get selected for their cheerleader skills rather than any other contribution.”
Following his death, Nalapat claimed that despite calling a special Union Cabinet meeting at 3 pm to discuss the subject of Rao’s funera. No arrangements were made at his 9 Motilal Nehru Marg to receive the body and place it on a platform.
Neither flowers nor carpets were laid out by the Congress administration for the mourning crowds to sit on.
