In the wake of assault on women and casualties due to fire in Delhi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has decided not to celebrate her birthday. The longest serving Congress president turned 73 today.
Back in 2004, when Sonia Gandhi was the Congress President, she didn't let former PM Narasimha Rao's body into Congress headquarter in Delhi.
Pamulaparthy Venkata Narasimha Rao, better known as PV Narasimha Rao, he was first prime minister from south of the Vindhyas, lasted a full term in office, and began the transformation of India through the economic reforms initiated by him. P.V. Narasimha Rao, prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996, had died at around 11 a.m., 23 December 2004.
The Congress had come back to power at the Centre by then. Sonia Gandhi was the Congress president. A day after Rao's death, the body was brought to the gates of the Congress headquarters in New Delhi.
But Rao's body was not allowed to be placed inside for the people to pay homage. His cortege was parked on the pavement outside the AICC gate. This was confirmed by Margaret Alva, the veteran Congress leader in her autobiography, Courage & Commitment, published in 2016.
According to India Today, the reason put forth by the Congress defenders then was that the body was so heavy that it was difficult to lift it of the gun carriage and place it inside the Congress headquarters. The body was taken to Hyderabad for cremation citing the wish of the family members. According to reports, after his funeral pyre was lit, no one stayed at the cremation ground. Congress leaders of Andhra Pradesh were hard to be seen.
