Kept Sonia informed about contents of my book, says Alva

Congre­ss leader Margaret Alva has said that she had kept her party boss Sonia Gandhi abreast of the contents of her book.

During the launch of her book ‘Courage and Commitment’ in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Alva said she had informed Sonia about using her (Alva’s) resignation, which she had tendered to the party after the Congress lost the elections in Karnataka in 2008.

“I had kept a copy of the letter that I had written to Sonia eight years ago, locked up. I told her that I have taken it out of the locker and that I would be using it in my book. I presented her with the second copy of the book,” she said.

Alva said that as party general secretary, she was kept in the dark about the party affairs in Karnataka. “My objection was that I should have been consulted when decisions were being taken at the local level. Tickets were sold - not given on merit. Hence we lost in Karnataka.