New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Chairperson (CPP) Sonia Gandhi recalled visiting former party Chief Sitaram Kesri’s residence to seek his blessings, after being elected the party President in 1998, which left the latter surprised, Gandhi said in her memoir ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’.
The book, released on Tuesday, traces the events of 1998, surrounding Kesri’s reported ouster as the Congress chief and the subsequent election of Sonia Gandhi to lead the grand old party.
Sonia Gandhi’s account of Sitaram Kesri is different from the famous controversy surrounding his removal as the Congress President.
She said that after being elected as the Congress President at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in 1998, she went directly to Kesri’s residence and sought his blessings by touching his feet, according to a report by NDTV.
Recalling the emotional meeting in her book, Sonia Gandhi said that Kesri was surprised by her unexpected visit.
“However, with tears in his (Kesri’s) eyes, he placed his hand on her head and blessed her,” she added.
She noted that after the Congress party’s defeat under the then Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in 1996, two governments came and went before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) eventually came to power with the support of a coalition of 20 parties.
The new government was led by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who, over five decades in Parliament, had earned a reputation as a skilled politician and an influential orator.
Sonia Gandhi recalled that following the election results, the party once again began a process of change.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) unanimously concluded that a leadership change was necessary.
The then-Congress President Sitaram Kesri was asked to step down, and on March 14, 1998, Sonia Gandhi was elected party President in his place.
“Kesri ji, as I always addressed him, had been an active member of the Congress for more than six decades. Suddenly, the thought came to my mind, and I went straight from the meeting to his home. I greeted him and, following the traditional custom of showing respect to elders, touched his feet,” Sonia Gandhi was quoted as saying in her memoir by NDTV.
She added that Kesri was taken aback by her sudden arrival but nevertheless blessed her.
“His eyes filled with tears, and he placed his hand on my head.”
Notably, in March 1998, amid dramatic developments at the Congress headquarters on 24 Akbar Road in New Delhi, the CWC removed Sitaram Kesri from the post of party president. This cleared the way for Sonia Gandhi to take over the leadership of the party.
Sitaram Kesri, who hailed from Bihar, served as the Congress President from 1996 to 1998. He passed away in 2000.
(IANS)
