In one of the most dramatic moments of Indian politics, former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj had once vowed to live her entire life like a Hindu widow if Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had become India’s prime minister in 2004.
Swaraj later reasoned: “It hurt my sensibilities as even after culmination of British rule and the sacrifices made by fellow Indians, no (native) was there at that time to lead the country and a foreigner was being chosen.”
Sonia Gandhi contested elections from both Amethi and Karnataka’s Bellary in 1999. In Bellary, BJP fielded Sushma Swaraj. The seeds of ‘Indian beti’ and the ‘foreign bahu’— daughter of India versus Italian daughter-in-law — were sown. Swaraj lost to Gandhi from Bellary.
Shortly after Swaraj’s impassioned threat to shave off her head in 2004, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chose Dr Manmohan Singh as India’s Prime Minister. The spark of foreign-origin debate lit by Swaraj did not really erupt after that.
In 2011, Sonia Gandhi complimented Swaraj while delivering a Commonwealth lecture on women, calling her a woman of substance. The two developed a semblance of stability in the forthcoming years of their respective parliamentary careers.
In August 2015, with both Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi in the house, Swaraj called upon Rahul to ‘ask mumma’ where were the fugitives who left India during Congress rule. Sonia called Swaraj ‘maahir’ (expert) in theatrics.
After Sushma Swaraj’s demise in August 2019, Sonia Gandhi wrote to Swaraj’s family. “I feel her loss greatly,” Sonia wrote. Sonia Gandhi was seen hugging Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri when she visited their home to pay her last respects.