Sonia Gandhi recalls pleading with Rajiv not to become PM after Indira’s assassination: ‘They will kill you’
Sonia said she was overwhelmed by anger and anguish at the prospect of Rajiv taking over as prime minister, fearing that he too could become a target.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi reached out to her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, to dissuade him from becoming India's prime minister after his mother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated. In her memoir, Sonia detailed the emotional moments that followed Indira's shooting at her residence in New Delhi. When Rajiv returned from a political rally in West Bengal upon receiving news of the incident, he rushed to the hospital to be with his wife.
Sonia expressed her desire to be alone with her husband for a brief moment but quickly realized that he was about to share news she didn't want to hear. "We held each other, and as he spoke to me, it sunk in that he was saying something I didn't want to hear. I have been asked; They want me to be sworn in as prime minister," Sonia recounted.
Overwhelmed by anger and anguish, Sonia feared that Rajiv might also become a target if he took on the role of prime minister. She pleaded with him to refuse the responsibility, warning him that his life would be in danger. Rajiv responded, "They will kill me anyway." Despite Sonia's heartfelt pleas, her husband could not bring himself to reject the position.
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