New Delhi, Dec. 11: Sharad Pawar has said that it was Sonia Gandhi herself who initiated the discussion on her foreign origin that led to his suspension from the Congress in 1999.
The claim comes in his memoirs, On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power, which was released here yesterday in the presence of the country's top politicians, including Sonia.
"On 15 May 1999, the Congress president called a meeting of the CWC. For no apparent reason, she suddenly pulled out a sheet of paper and read aloud: 'I was born outside India. If this becomes an issue in the campaign, how would it impact our party's performance in the election?' She requested CWC members to voice their opinions candidly," Pawar recalls.
After leaders such as Arjun Singh, A.K. Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad professed their loyalty to Sonia, it was P.A. Sangma's turn to speak.
"He was believed to be very close to Sonia Gandhi. So what he said was totally unexpected for many," Pawar writes.
He quotes Sangma as saying: "There is no doubt that Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin will be made a big issue in the election. It will be foolish on our part to say there will be no impact if we are criticised for choosing a foreigner to lead us when the party has so many able people. We shall have to devise a strategy to counter that criticism."
Tariq Anwar, subsequently suspended with Pawar and Sangma, concurred.
Pawar's quotes him as telling the meeting: "The people of India will not forget that the Gandhi family has contributed a lot to this country.... Therefore, we shall be able to counter effectively the Opposition parties' campaign against Soniaji's foreign origin.
"In that sense, I agree with what Sangma said. We must meet the Opposition campaign head on. But it will be our gross mistake to presume that the Opposition will not campaign on the 'foreigner' issue."
Sonia remained silent and the meeting ended on "that uneasy note", Pawar reminisces, adding that he left for Mumbai by the afternoon flight. Sonia had resigned by the time he had landed, and protests had begun against him, Sangma and Anwar.
The trio met and drafted a four-page letter to Sonia urging her to take the "immediate initiative" of proposing a constitutional amendment allowing only natural-born Indian citizens to become President, Vice-President or Prime Minister.
Although by his account the letter would have been written at least a day after the meeting, it is dated May 15, 1999. The three were suspended for six years. "Arjun Singh had orchestrated the entire episode," Pawar says.
The book brings out the uneasy relationship between Sonia and Pawar. At the event yesterday, held to felicitate Pawar ahead of his 75th birth anniversary tomorrow, Sonia too had hinted that they had often failed to see eye to eye.
"Though I was among those few who invited Sonia Gandhi to become Congress president, there was little warmth between us," Pawar says on Page 150.
He also mentions his controversial move last year to unilaterally announce unconditional support to the BJP from outside if it wanted to form the Maharashtra government on its own.
"The BJP could have easily formed the government in collaboration with its traditional ally, the Shiv Sena (which it eventually did). However, the Sena was making things difficult for the BJP. Sensing an opportunity to drive a wedge between the saffron partners, I unilaterally announced unconditional support to the BJP from outside," he writes.
"BJP-Sena finally formed a joint government. However, the psychological rift still persists between the two allies and this is what I was aiming at."
