Kalam had no objection to Sonia Gandhi become PM

New Delhi. Foormer President APJ Abdul Kalam has finally exploded the political myth that he was reluctant to appoint Congress president Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister in May 2004 when he was the country’s President. In his soon-to-be-released book — Turning Points, A Journey Through Challenges — Kalam reveals that if Gandhi wanted to become PM in 2004, he would have had “no option but to appoint her” says a report.
Kalam’s stand on the political situation after the Lok Sabha elections lifted the veil on an episode that has been intensely speculated upon that he was reluctant to appoint the Italian-born Gandhi as the country’s PM.

Gandhi had decided not to become PM despite having been elected unanimously as leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party and the newly formed United Progressive Alliance soon after the poll results were declared on May 13, 2004.

The Left parties, which decided to extend outside support to the Congress-led government, had also endorsed her name for the top post. But many right-wing leaders had cited Gandhi’s foreign origin to oppose her appointment as Prime Minister.

“During this time there were many political leaders who came to meet me to request me not to succumb to any pressure and appoint Mrs Gandhi as the Prime Minister, a request that would not have been constitutionally tenable. If she had made any claim for herself, I would have had no option but to appoint her,” the book says.

In his book, Kalam writes that after the Lok Sabha poll results were announced, no party or coalition came forward to form the government for three days.

During his tenure, he says he had to take many tough decisions.

“I had applied my mind totally in an unbiased manner after eliciting opinions from legal and constitutional experts. The primary aim of all the decisions was to protect and nurture the sanctity and robustness of our Constitution.”