Sonia Gandhi, in an interview to The Hindu, suggests that "people are beginning to be restless", adding that they are "recognising" the "great damage" that has been done to "our country, our democracy and our institutions" under the BJP government over the last 12 years.
The 79-year-old leader, whose memoir 'Belonging: A Journey Of Love' launches worldwide on November 10, tells the national daily that she is "not so pessimistic" when told that the decline of the Congress as India's dominant party is a "fact of political life".
The Congress has been spearheading protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over SIR or special intensive revision of electoral rolls over what it calls 'vote chori' and electoral irregularities.
In July, student-led protests forced the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister over the NEET paper leak.
"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. People are now beginning to be restless and recognising the damage. But I am optimistic and I know that the people of India will welcome a return to proper governance," she told the publisher when questioned if politics will return to a contest over policies and programmes if the BJP is voted out of power in the 2029 next Lok Sabha elections.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, taking objection to Sonia Gandhi's democracy comments, questioned the Congress leader on the Emergency.
"The article (The Hindu interview) makes certain observations regarding democracy. I would like to ask Sonia ji: does she not recall the period of 1975, when democracy was strangled? Thousands of senior leaders from various political parties were thrown into jail, and the voices of journalists were silenced. She ought to remember that era as well. In contrast, over the last 12 years, PM Modi has nurtured, flourished, and strengthened democracy, proclaiming to the entire world that India is the 'mother of democracy.' It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has emphatically declared that 'India is the mother of democracy,'" Meghwal said.
Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh also led the BJP's counterattack on Sonia Gandhi, pointing out that in nine states the Congress "haven't held power for forty years". The BJP Minister said "this is the same Congress that imposed the Emergency and silenced the people".
In the same interview, Sonia Gandhi listed out a set of deteriorating circumstances leading upto the period of Emergency, adding that Indira Gandhi later "publically expressed regret for the excesses during the Emergency".
"When I take myself back to that period and try and see it from Mrs. Gandhi's point of view, I see her struggling to cope with the rapidly deteriorating prevailing circumstances: violent protests, government offices and public transport set on fire, widespread organised unrest and even a call for the bureaucracy and armed forces to disobey orders," she said.
She emphasised that the decision to invoke Emergency was ultimately resolved through democratic means.
"Hindsight allows us to put things better in perspective. Let's not forget that it was Mrs. Gandhi herself who came to recognise what was happening and called for the March 1977 election. And you know very well that she herself later publicly expressed regret and apologised for excesses during the Emergency," she added.
The Congress leader admitted that "in politics compromises are at times unavoidable", but she and her party have "never made any compromises with the BJP and the RSS and we never will".
The Congress got a shellacking when it lost three consecutive general elections - in 2014, 2019, 2024 - and has not been able to reverse the declining trend. The party, pointing to the alleged disquiet within the Election Commission as detailed in an Express report, claims that polls have been stolen and has been petitioning to go back to the ballot papers.
The Express report detailed how Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected on record 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls process under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Sonia Gandhi claimed that her Congress party and others have "not had a level playing field" since the BJP has come to power.
"I am not so pessimistic. Consider that the Congress party and other opposition parties have not had a level playing field since this government came to power. 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," Gandhi said.
"Yet, our party is fighting and making progress, in fact, it is the only party that has had the resilience to withstand this onslaught. Our workers and leaders have been extremely courageous. They have faced persecution of all kinds and yet, in every village and every district, congressmen and women are still fighting for the values enshrined in our Constitution. 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.
Sonia Gandhi suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's humble origins, of him being a tea seller, may have been exaggerated by his PR team, but says he "had certainly worked his way to power within the RSS from an underprivileged world".
