'Stranglehold on institutions, media control': Sonia takes aim at Modi govt

• Sonia Gandhi accuses the Modi government of weakening India's democratic institutions over 12 years.

• Former Congress chief defends the party's resilience and alleges electoral manipulation and institutional interference.

• Her 544-page memoir traces her personal journey, family tragedies and entry into Indian politics.

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has accused the Narendra Modi government of inflicting deep damage on India's democratic institutions over the past 12 years, warning that reversing the decline will require considerable time and a sustained effort by political parties, even after the present dispensation leaves office.

In an interview with The Hindu ahead of the release of her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Gandhi said growing public unease suggested that people were beginning to recognise the extent of the damage. Despite her concerns, she expressed confidence that the country would eventually return to what she described as proper governance.

"Over the last twelve years great damage has been done to the fabric of our country, our democracy and our institutions. Even after this government goes, it will take time to restore our systems back to health and great effort from political parties," she said. "I am optimistic and I know that the people of India will welcome a return to proper governance."

'Congress has withstood the onslaught'

Responding to questions about the Congress's declining political fortunes, its current state, and prospects for revival, Gandhi rejected the suggestion that she was pessimistic about the party's future. She argued that the Congress and other Opposition parties had been operating in an increasingly unequal political environment since the BJP came to power.

Gandhi accused the ruling establishment of exercising overwhelming influence over institutions, particularly the Election Commission of India (ECI), while also enjoying control over mainstream media and commanding considerable financial resources. She further alleged that religion was being used as a political instrument.

"Take into account the complete stranglehold they have on all institutions, especially the Election Commission, their control of mainstream media, their money power and their exploitation of religion," she said.

Despite these challenges, Gandhi maintained that the Congress had continued to resist political pressure and make progress, describing it as the only party to have demonstrated the resilience needed to withstand what she called an onslaught.

She alleged that party leaders and workers had been subjected to different forms of persecution but continued to uphold the principles of the Constitution across the country.

Gandhi also reiterated the Congress's allegations of electoral irregularities, claiming that recent developments had strengthened the party's contention that several elections had been stolen.

"What is more, it has been amply proved in recent months that many elections have been stolen, and people are now more aware of it," she said, adding that the Congress was working alongside like-minded parties and that its electoral prospects were improving.

'We have little to learn from the RSS'

Asked what the Congress could learn from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political rise, Gandhi said his ideological background was fundamentally different from that of her party. However, she pointed out that the Congress had its own examples of political success, citing former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

"It's true that he comes from a very different ideological world. But there are many ways that people succeed in politics within the Congress party, take for example Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. I don't think we have much to learn from the RSS," she said.

Gandhi also dismissed the suggestion that she had ever reconsidered her decision to decline the prime minister's post after the Congress-led alliance won the 2004 general election.

Asked whether she had wondered how the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) policies or the Congress's political strategy might have evolved had she accepted the position, she said the thought had never crossed her mind. Describing the experience of the UPA years as largely positive, Gandhi said she and Singh had worked as a team, with clearly defined responsibilities — Singh heading the government and she leading the party.

Memoir traces journey from Italy to Indian politics

Gandhi's 544-page memoir, published by HarperCollins India, is primarily a personal account, with political developments providing the backdrop to her life story. As she describes it, politics serves as "a kind of framework" for the narrative.

Last month, Gandhi had said others had spent decades telling her story and that she had now decided to tell it herself. She also anticipated considerable public attention and controversy surrounding the memoir, remarking that there was bound to be "some tamasha" when it was released on 10 November.

The book's publication in India follows an impasse between Gandhi's representatives and Penguin Random House India (PRHI), which had initially been keen to bring out the memoir but eventually withdrew as its domestic publisher.

The disagreement reportedly centred on editorial changes sought in the manuscript. Several Congress leaders subsequently raised concerns about possible government pressure and its implications for freedom of expression. Some alleged that Penguin India had faced pressure to remove passages concerning Modi, the RSS and China's alleged occupation of Indian territory during the present government's tenure.

PRHI maintained that it had been keen to publish the memoir, describing it as a 'hard-won acquisition', but eventually decided to withdraw after negotiations reached a stalemate over a particular issue.

The publishing house denied that any external pressure had influenced its decision. However, citing confidentiality obligations and its agreement with the author, it declined to disclose the precise nature of the disagreement.

Belonging: A Journey of Love traces Gandhi's life from her childhood in post-war Veneto, Italy, to her eventual arrival in India. It recounts her move to Cambridge, where she met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965, their subsequent marriage and her introduction to her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The memoir also explores her gradual adjustment to Indian life, including learning Hindi, adopting the sari and familiarising herself with the country's food and cultural traditions.

Among its most personal chapters are accounts of the tragedies that shaped the Gandhi family — the death of Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash, Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991.