Gandhi shocks nation

Delhi

Sonia Gandhi, leader of the party that won India’s elections last week, threw the country into turmoil this week when she refused to become prime minister. “I want to give India a secular government that is strong and stable,” she told her tearful Congress Party supporters. “I never wanted to be the prime minister.” Her surprise decision came after members of the ousted nationalist BJP party said they would boycott her swearing-in ceremony because she was an Indian only by naturalization, not by birth. Gandhi is an Italian who married into India’s foremost political family decades ago. Her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, and her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, were both assassinated while holding the post of prime minister, and some news reports said her children had begged her not to take office.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up