Indira Gandhi regretted Emergency decision, says Sonia Gandhi

In her forthcoming book 'Belonging: A Journey of Love,' Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi offers a reassessment of one of independent India's most contentious political episodes. Speaking to international media ahead of the memoir's release, Gandhi stated that she believes the then Prime Minister was fundamentally uncomfortable with the course of action.

"I always feel that Mrs Gandhi was a democrat at heart," Sonia Gandhi said in the interview. "I know that many would laugh at this, but I believe she was never comfortable in the course of the emergency. I think it was sitting heavy on her."

According to Gandhi's account in the memoir, the damage inflicted during the 21-month Emergency could have been substantially mitigated had there been better oversight of her late husband Rajiv Gandhi's younger brother, Sanjay Gandhi, who wielded considerable influence during the period. Sanjay Gandhi was widely associated with the most controversial aspects of the Emergency, including forced sterilisation programmes and demolitions.

Sonia Gandhi, who served as Congress president for over two decades, characterised the Emergency declaration itself as an error of judgement. Her comments represent a significant acknowledgement from the party hierarchy regarding an episode that remains deeply divisive in Indian political discourse.