Rajnath Singh flays Congress for remarks on Sanjay Gandhi

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh has said that the Congress was holding Sanjay Gandhi responsible for the emergency as his wife and son are now in the saffron party.

"Indira Gandhi and her government were responsible for emergency as her membership in the Parliament was under threat at that time," Singh told reporters while rejecting Congress claim that Sanjay Gandhi was responsible for emergency.

The former national president also said that Congress is now holding Sanjay responsible as Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi are in the BJP.

Sanjay Gandhi's widow Maneka and son Varun are now BJP MPs and the latter is also a national secretary and election in-charge of the party for Assam.

"The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed emergency to save her membership in the Lok Sabha," Singh alleged.

He said that the BJP will soon expose scams of Rs3 lakh crore during Congress regime.

He was referring to a Congress publication titled Congress and the Making of the Indian Nation on completion of 125 years of the party.

The book, edited by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, states that Sanjay Gandhi acted in an "authoritarian and arbitrary manner" on issues of family planning and slum clearance during the Emergency.