India

Sonia Gandhi Recalls Pleading With Rajiv Not to Become Prime Minister After Mother’s Assassination

By HT News Desk

Sonia Gandhi said she was overwhelmed with anger and anguish when she learned that her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, was being asked to become India’s prime minister after his mother, Indira Gandhi, was shot dead on 31 October 1984. In an edited excerpt from her memoir published by The Guardian, Sonia describes the emotional moments following Indira’s murder at her 1, Safdarjung Road residence in New Delhi. Rajiv was in West Bengal at a political rally when he was informed of the incident. He hurried back to Delhi, arriving around 3.30 pm, and was taken straight to the hospital. During their meeting at the hospital, Sonia longed to be alone with him but realized he was about to tell her something she did not want to hear. She wrote that he said, “I have been asked; they want me to be sworn in as prime minister.” Sonia felt as if a knife had been plunged into her heart, describing a pounding in her chest and a deep rage that she tried to hold back. She recalled bursting into tears and begging Rajiv, with folded hands, not to accept the position, warning that his life could also be in danger. “No, no, you can’t think of it. You have to stop them, you must refuse, you must say no, for the children’s sake, for yourself. You can’t do this to us. They will kill you; they will kill you, too!” she said. Rajiv replied, “They will kill me anyway.” The exchange left Sonia overwhelmed with pain and fear as she tried to persuade her husband against taking over as prime minister.