But even a cursory study of Congress politics shows that the Nehru-Gandhi family cannot be seen as an ideological monolith and different members of the family have pursued different sets of politics. Indira Gandhi flirted with Hindutva in her second term in office from 1980-84. Rajiv Gandhi’s 1989 election campaign (believed to be masterminded by Arun Nehru who eventually joined the BJP) focused on the “nation in danger” theme and though its target was Sikh extremism, it evoked a great response from Hindutva-minded sections. And his years in office were marked by periodic compromises that helped the revival of the RSS-BJP.

Sonia Gandhi, since she took over as party chief, has tried to substantially restore the Congress’s Nehruvian secularism. But Rahul Gandhi’s claim on behalf of the entire Gandhi family may only revive memories of the Congress’s own soft Hindutva under Indira and Rajiv to the detriment of the current politics and interests of the party.