BJP Leader Claims APJ Abdul Kalam Refused To Swear In Sonia Gandhi
· India · India Today, The Hindu
BJP leader Dinesh Pratap Singh has alleged that in 2004, then President APJ Abdul Kalam refused to administer the oath of office to Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister due to her foreign origin. Singh, speaking in Raebareli, claimed the Congress party subsequently framed her decision not to take the post as a sacrifice to manage the political fallout. This account contradicts Sonia Gandhi’s own memoir, which states she declined the position after following her inner voice. In her book, she writes that she selected Manmohan Singh for the role because of his integrity and governance experience. The exact nature of any formal communication between the AICC and the President's office in 2004 remains a subject of political dispute.
Why it matters
The conflicting accounts of the 2004 Prime Ministerial transition continue to fuel political debate between the BJP and the Congress party regarding leadership legitimacy and historical narratives.
Read the original report — India Today
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