Youth Congress members staged a protest here today against former union external affairs minister K Natwar Singh for claiming that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was forced by her son Rahul Gandhi not to accept the prime minister's post in 2004.
Pramod Shankar, a protester, said, "Natwar Singh was in Congress for 40 years, and now, he has raised a voice against the party. It is very wrong. Whatever he wrote is a plain lie. Sonia Gandhi sacrificed the post and gave it to Manmohan Singh. Even during the second time, she gave the post to Manmohan Singh."
The protesters not only agitated against Natwar Singh, calling him "the fake king", but also burnt his posters.
Yesterday, many Congress leaders had unanimously rejected Natwar Singh's claims of Rahul Gandhi preventing party president and his mother Sonia Gandhi from becoming prime minister in 2004.
Congress leader Rashid Alvi had said, "He is saying all this after so many years, people will not believe it. Whatever has been written, will not harm Sonia Gandhi's prestige in any way, it will only boomerang on him."
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, had called Natwar Singh's book an eye opener.
BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain had said, "Natwar Singh's book is an eye opener for everyone; His book has exposed them. She had said that she had sacrificed the prime minister's post. There is always a threat for the person who sits on the seat of Prime Minister. It was only out of fear that she did not accept the position.
Were they afraid of it? Then what service will they do to our country. Congress has nothing to say on this. Have they not met Natwar Singh?" Hussain had told ANI.
The BJP leader had further added, "It is now proved that it was the government of the mother and son without any responsibilty. It is now proved that they were running the UPA Government, and Dr. Manmohan Singh was just the face of it.
