BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi takes dig at Sonia Gandhi: “Gave up PM post, became Super PM"

Sonia Gandhi may have declined the Prime Minister's post after the Congress-led alliance won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, but she continued to wield influence over the government as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC), BJP MP and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged on Wednesday. He described her as a “Super PM”, questioning how she could give up the top constitutional office while holding a Cabinet Minister-ranked position in the advisory body during the UPA government.

Addressing a press conference, Trivedi argued that Gandhi's decision to nominate Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister did not mean she had stepped away from the government's power structure. He alleged that her position as NAC chairperson gave her considerable influence despite not being part of the Cabinet.

Trivedi also questioned the circumstances surrounding her appointment, pointing out that the NAC chairperson's position carried Cabinet Minister rank and raising the issue of the Office of Profit provisions.


He argued that the arrangement was unusual because Gandhi had relinquished the Prime Minister's post but continued to occupy a position with Cabinet-level status. Referring to the UPA years, he also questioned the influence exercised by what he described as the “Super PM” and “Super Cabinet”.

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Why BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi called Sonia Gandhi a 'Super PM'

Trivedi's criticism centred on Gandhi's role as NAC chairperson after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power in 2004.

Gandhi had declined to become Prime Minister and instead nominated Manmohan Singh to lead the government. However, she subsequently headed the National Advisory Council, an advisory body associated with the UPA government.

Trivedi alleged that the Cabinet Minister rank attached to the NAC chairperson's position allowed Gandhi to retain considerable influence over the government despite not holding the Prime Minister's office. He questioned the propriety of the arrangement and its relationship with the Office of Profit provisions.

His remarks were part of a wider BJP criticism of Gandhi's account of the 2004 decision in her newly released memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.

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What Sonia Gandhi wrote about turning down the Prime Minister's post in 2004

In her memoir, released on Tuesday, Gandhi revisits the events following the Congress-led alliance's victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and explains why she chose not to become Prime Minister.

She writes that she had already discussed the possibility with her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, before the election results. Both opposed her taking the position because of the trauma the family had experienced following the assassinations of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Gandhi recalls that senior alliance leaders later urged her to accept the post. Although she initially indicated that she might agree, she reconsidered after reflecting on the decision and told Rahul that she would stay with her original choice.

She subsequently informed Parliament that she would follow her inner voice and named Manmohan Singh as the Congress Parliamentary Party leader, clearing the way for him to become Prime Minister.

Trivedi's remarks have brought renewed attention to the distinction between Gandhi's decision not to occupy the Prime Minister's office and her subsequent role in the UPA-era advisory structure.