Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Early life
2
2.1
2 POLITICAL CAREER
Political career
Wife of the Prime Minister
Sonia Gandhis involvement with Indian public life began after the assassination of her mother-in-law and her
husbands election as Prime Minister. As the Prime Ministers wife she acted as his ocial hostess and also accompanied him on a number of state visits.[30] In 1984,
she actively campaigned against her husbands sister-inlaw Maneka Gandhi who was running against Rajiv in
Amethi. At the end of Rajiv Gandhis ve years in ofce, the Bofors scandal broke out. Ottavio Quattrocchi,
an Italian business man believed to be involved, was said
to be a friend of Sonia Gandhi, having access to the Prime
Ministers ocial residence.[31] The BJP has alleged that
she appeared on the voters list in New Delhi prior to obtaining Indian citizenship in April 1983, in contravention
of Indian law.[32][33]
2.2
Congress President
3
port of the left, which was subsequently named the United won 206 Lok Sabha seats, which was then the highest toProgressive Alliance (UPA).
tal by any party since 1991.[55] She was also re-elected to
term as a member of parliament representing Rae
The defeated NDA protested once again her 'foreign ori- a third [56]
Bareli.
gin' and senior NDA leader Sushma Swaraj threatened to
shave her head and sleep on the ground, among other
things, should Sonia become prime minister.[9] The NDA
also claimed that there were legal reasons that barred
her from the Prime Ministers post.[44] They pointed, in
particular, to Section 5 of the Indian Citizenship Act of
1955, which they claimed implied 'reciprocity'. This was
contested by others[33] and eventually the suits were dismissed by the Supreme Court of India.[45]
3 Personal life
2.5
UPA Chairperson
Sonia Gandhi speaking at World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit 2006
On 23 March 2006, Gandhi announced her resignation from the Lok Sabha and also as chairperson of
the National Advisory Council under the oce-of-prot
controversy and the speculation that the government
was planning to bring an ordinance to exempt the post
of chairperson of National Advisory Council from the
purview of oce of prot.[48] She was re-elected from
her constituency Rae Bareli in May 2006 by a margin of
over 400,000 votes.[49][50]
Sonia is the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, elder son of Indira Gandhi. Sonia has two children, Rahul and Priyanka
Gandhi.
REFERENCES
See also
List of political families
List of Italians
References
[24] Perry, Alex (17 May 2004). The Sonia Shock. Time.
Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 12
June 2009.
[26] Prole: Sonia Gandhi. BBC News. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
p.
[48] "'Hurt' Sonia quits as MP, chairperson of NAC. Retrieved 23 March 2006.
[49] Rae Bareli Lok Sabha. Elections.in. Retrieved 21 May
2014.
[50] Sonia strides to victory with record margin. Redi. 11
May 2006.
[51] Employment Bill not a populist measure: Sonia. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
[52] After RTI success, its right to work. Retrieved 13 July
2007.
[53] Sonia Gandhi raises disarmament issue at UN meet.
The Times of India. 2 October 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
[54] Indias new government sworn in. BBC News. 22 May
2009. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
[55] Hail to the chief: Sonia spurs Cong to new heights. Hindustan Times. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
[56] List of Winning candidates Final (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 8. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
[57] Sonia Gandhi completes 15 years as Congress president.
Livemint. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
[58] Disappointed over court ruling on gay rights: Sonia
Gandhi. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
[59] Sonia Gandhi wins by over 3.52 lakh votes. The Indian
Express. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
[60] After its worst defeat ever in Lok Sabha elections, what
can Congress do to recover?". Daily News & Analysis. 19
May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
[61] The worst defeat: Where the Congress went wrong. IBN
Live. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
[62] Results. NDTV. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
[63] Sonia returns after surgery. Indian Express (9 September
2011). Retrieved on 9 December 2011.
[64] Its for Rahul to decide: Sonia. The Hindu (Chennai,
India). 18 July 2012.
[65] Cartner-Morley, Jess; Mirren, Helen; Hungton, Arianna; Amos, Valerie (28 March 2013). The 50 bestdressed over 50s. The Guardian (London).
[66] Simple is stylish: Sonia. telegraph India. 8 November
2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
[67] Sonia Gandhi les papers, shows six-fold hike in assets.
The Times of India.
[68] The Worlds 100 Most Powerful Women. Forbes. 20
August 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
[69] Sonia Gandhi in Forbes list for 2007. Forbes. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
[70] In Maino land. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
EXTERNAL LINKS
Further reading
S. R. ET AL. BAKSHI (1998) Sonia Gandhi, The
President of AICC South Asia Books. ISBN 817024-988-0
Rupa Chaterjee (1999) Sonia Gandhi: The Lady in
Shadow Butala. ISBN 81-87277-02-5
C. Rupa, Rupa Chaterjee (2000) Sonia Mystique
South Asia Books. ISBN 81-85870-24-1
Moro, Javier El sari rojo (Ed. Seix Barral, 2008)
Il sari rosso (Il Saggiatore, 2009)
External links
Ocial
Parliamentary prole at India.gov.in
Others
Prole at BBC News
Prole at Forbes
Sonia Gandhi collected news and commentary at
The New York Times
Sonia Gandhi collected news and commentary at
The Guardian
Sonia Gandhi collected news and commentary at
The Wall Street Journal
Sonia Gandhi collected news and commentary at Al
Jazeera English
Sonia Gandhi at the Internet Movie Database
10
10.1
10.2
Images
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/
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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/Signature_of_Sonia_Gandhi.svg Li-
File:Sonia_Gandhi_welcomes_U.S._Secretary_of_State_Hillary_Rodham.jpg Source:
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10.3
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