Congress never gave PV his due: Margaret Alva

Taj Krishna in association with Prabha Khaitan Foundation on Tuesday organised a book reading session ‘Courage and Commitment - An Autobiography’ with Margaret Alva. Author and Columnist, Sriram Karri moderated the discussion.

Margaret Alva is one of the youngest MPs of Rajya Sabha; she secured the post at the age of 32. She served as a Governor for four different States.

“I never dreamt of being a politician. In my schooling days, I used to speak on every topic. Once, my English teacher Sarala asked me to talk on the stage on whatever the topic I knew. Before that, I never spoke on the stage. I chose the topic co-education and I gave my best. After my speech, everyone came to me and appreciated for my great oratory skills,” Margaret Alva said.

Sharing her views on the National Emergency in 1975, imposed by Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, she says “In the emergency, I informed Indira Gandhi about all the wrong things that were happening. Later, Indira Gandhi said she will go for elections.

Many congress people forced Indira to not go for elections but she refused. She realised that the things have gone wrong during that period. She also said she will continue as a leader with people mandate.”

She said that the Congress party should have treated PV Narasimha Rao with much honour. She also said the Congress failed to pay respect to him.

She said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a great orator and able to connect large sections of people and that’s why he won. She noted that the people will judge Modi after watching his political schemes.