• Narasimha Rao’s grandson NV Subhash criticises Sonia Gandhi over alleged omission of former PM.
• BJP leader calls the memoir a “pack of lies”.
• Subhash credits Rao with backing India’s economic reforms.
• He praises the Modi government for awarding Rao the Bharat Ratna in 2024.

GG News Bureau
Hyderabad, 12th Nov: Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s grandson NV Subhash has criticised Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for allegedly omitting Rao’s contributions in her memoir, describing the book as a “pack of lies”.

Subhash, chief spokesperson of the BJP’s Telangana unit, accused Gandhi of deliberately overlooking Rao’s role in the Congress party and the country’s development. He said the omission did not surprise the family, alleging that the Gandhi family had repeatedly sidelined leaders to highlight its own members.

Calling Rao the architect of India’s economic reforms and the country’s first Prime Minister from the South, Subhash credited him with initiating the reform process and backing then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh despite criticism from within the Congress.

He questioned why Gandhi had not acknowledged Rao’s contribution, particularly his role in keeping the Congress together following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Subhash also praised the NDA government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recognising Rao’s legacy by conferring the Bharat Ratna on him in February 2024.

The BJP leader further alleged that Gandhi’s memoir contained historical inaccuracies concerning the Gandhi family’s tenure in power, including the period of the Emergency.

Pointing to what he described as contradictions in the book, Subhash questioned Gandhi’s account of Rajiv Gandhi’s entry into politics. He alleged that while she had written about not wanting her husband to enter politics, members of the Gandhi family had subsequently promoted their children in political life.

His remarks have brought Rao’s political legacy and his contribution to India’s economic reforms into the centre of a fresh political exchange between the BJP and Congress.