New Delhi: Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi has noted in her autobiography that during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, she asked herself whether forming an alliance with the DMK would amount to betraying Rajiv Gandhi.
Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi has written an autobiography titled ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’. In the autobiography, Sonia Gandhi writes: In 2004, among all the political forces that needed to come together to take on the BJP, the DMK was the most important party in South India, so it was necessary to engage with that party.
Some of the senior leaders of our party from Tamil Nadu were eager to form an alliance with the DMK. In the 1991 election, DMK workers had openly expressed support for the LTTE Liberation Tigers, who had killed Rajiv Gandhi. Some members of that party had openly issued threats against Rajiv.
When the Jain Commission, set up to investigate Rajiv’s assassination, released its report accusing the DMK leader of indirectly supporting the Tamil assassins, Congress had even withdrawn the support it had been giving to the United Front government led by then Prime Minister I.K. Gujral in 1997. Those painful memories began to haunt me again. At that time, I would ask myself, “What should I do? If I join hands with them (the DMK), wouldn’t that amount to betraying Rajiv Gandhi?”
On the other hand, “We had to make an urgent decision to strengthen our alliance against the BJP. When I first called DMK leader Karunanidhi on the phone to begin talks with the DMK, my heart was pounding. My hands were trembling. I do not know Tamil. He did not know English.
However, when I spoke to him on the phone, he responded warmly. After that, we met in person and took all the necessary steps for both parties to work together as an alliance. Over time, I developed respect for Karunanidhi. Whenever differences of opinion arose with party members, I would have to intervene. Finally, on May 4, 2004, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was formed. This is what Sonia Gandhi has written in her autobiography.
DKS Elangovan’s response
Regarding this, DMK senior leader T.K.S. Elangovan said, “The Congress, which had an alliance with the AIADMK, had to come with us at one point. Later, Sonia Gandhi wanted the DMK to be with them. We were with her because she felt that the DMK would be a strong force to oppose the BJP. That is what she has mentioned in her book. Also, we have no connection with the LTTE. We only supported the Eelam Tamils,” he said.
