Zee Media Bureau/Hemant Abhishek
New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi had written a letter to PM-designate Narendra Modi congratulating him on the landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections, AICC sources said on Thursday.
She sent a letter of congratulation to the BJP leader on Tuesday, said Congress sources.
There had been criticism of Sonia and her son Rahul Gandhi for not felicitating Modi by his name after his landslide win.
Senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar shrugged the letter off, saying, “Narendra (Modi) ji is being congratulated by everyone, a congratulation from opposition is natural.
The Congress leader had faced criticism when in her post-verdict speech she had said, "As president I take responsibility for the defeat (of my party)."
She had also congratulated the new government without naming BJP leader Narendra Modi, who is set to become the new Prime Minister of India.
A smiling Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had said he wanted to congratulate the new government but stopped short of taking Narendra Modi`s name.
"They have been given the mandate by the people, I want to wish them the best."
In the recently-concluded General Elections, Narendra Modi created history as he led the BJP to a spectacular victory in a battle that crushed the Congress and others ranged against him and gave, for the first time in 30 years, any party a majority in Parliament on its own.
After a record turnout of 66.4% in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP secured 282 of the 543 parliamentary seats.
