India, Nov. 11 -- A war of words broke out between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress following the release of Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi's book, Belonging: A Journey of Love, while the ruling party alleged that the memoir sought to "whitewash" the wrongs committed by the Nehru-Gandhi family, the Congress rebutted the allegations, accusing the BJP of raising historical controversies for political gains.

The memoir, which recounts Sonia's childhood in post-war Italy and meeting Rajiv Gandhi at Cambridge to her life in India and her bond with the country, went on sale on Tuesday.

The BJP launched attacks referring to Sonia's accounts in the book, including the post-Operation Blue Star reflections,...