Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s recollection of breaking down in tears while watching the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 has triggered a political confrontation, with the BJP accusing her of selectively expressing grief and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanding an apology.
In an interview with The Guardian ahead of the release of her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Gandhi recalled watching the mosque being demolished on December 6, 1992. She said the incident made her realise that India faced a “long battle” to preserve its secular character.
Gandhi also acknowledged that the Congress had, in some ways, contributed to the rise of the BJP and its hardline Hindutva politics. “I think we have been too complacent in many ways. There was a laissez-faire kind of an attitude,” she was quoted as saying.
BJP says ‘Babur remains in Congress’s heart’
Reacting to her remarks, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said they showed that “Babur was in the heart of the Congress party back then, and he remains in its heart even today”.
Trivedi accused the Congress of moving away from Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of “Ram Rajya” and alleged that the party had aligned itself with radical elements among Muslims.
He also questioned Gandhi’s account of watching the demolition on television, arguing that Doordarshan had not broadcast continuous live coverage of the incident. He asked when and where she had watched the footage.
BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan separately criticised the memoir, saying it should have been titled Whitewashing instead of Belonging. He accused Gandhi of attempting to conceal what he described as historical wrongs committed by the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh also accused Gandhi of selectively expressing grief over incidents involving different communities. He questioned her response to the 2002 Godhra train burning and the 2025 Pahalgam attack.
Congress leaders pushed back against the criticism. MP Rajeev Shukla pointed to past statements by BJP leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani and Jaswant Singh, who had criticised the Babri Masjid demolition.
VHP calls Gandhi’s remarks ‘crocodile tears’
The VHP also demanded an apology from Gandhi, accusing her of hurting Hindu sentiments and engaging in what it described as appeasement politics.
VHP central joint general secretary Surendra Jain called her expression of grief over the demolition “crocodile tears” and “election-time tears”. He compared her remarks with her alleged reaction to the 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi.
The encounter took place on September 19, 2008, when Delhi Police raided a flat in south Delhi. Two suspected Indian Mujahideen operatives and police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma were killed.
Jain referred to statements made by BJP leaders Amit Shah and JP Nadda, who had previously claimed that Gandhi cried over the deaths of those accused in the encounter. Congress leader Salman Khurshid had said in 2012 that Gandhi wept after being shown images from the operation.
Jain questioned why Gandhi had not expressed similar grief over Sharma’s death. He also accused her of remaining silent over the killings of Hindus in Kashmir, the demolition of temples in the Valley and violence against Hindus in other parts of the country.
The VHP leader further raised the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, the killing of saints during an anti-cow slaughter agitation in Delhi and the killing of Hindu tourists in Pahalgam. He also criticised Congress leader Rashid Alvi over reported remarks comparing pollution during Diwali and Eid.
Concluding his statement, Jain demanded that Gandhi and other Congress leaders apologise for remarks he said had insulted Hindus and the sacrifices of security personnel.
