Tanwar quit Cong but his wife can't leave Gandhis

When former Haryana Congress Pesident Ashok Tanwar resigned from the Congress last Saturday, his wife Avantika Maken Tanwar, felt shattered as she shares a close band with party President Sonia Gandhi. "Felt as if something within me had died," she said.

She was only six years old when her parents Lalit Maken and Geetanjali wewre gunned down by the Sikh extremists outside their Kirti Nagar residene in Wet Delhi on July 31, 1985. Sonia Gandhi and then PM Rajiv Gandhi were the first to reach their house and console a sobbing Avanttika.

For her, it has always been Sonia 'aunty' who played a key role in a number of decisions she took, including her marriage with tanwar after her first marriage failed.

"The sight of Congress flags being removed from our Sirsa and Delhi residences was too disturbing to describe in words. When I was told that pictures of Rajivji and Rahul Gandhi were to be removed, I put my foot down. How could have I allowed the pictures of those I have reverred all my life be removed?

Avantika's maternal grand father Shankar Dayal Sharma played a key role as the Congress leader in helping Indira Gandhi built a new Congress. He was the ninth President of India during 1992 to 1997. It was during his tenure as the Andhra Pradesh Governor that her parents were killed.

"Rajiv ji came to our residence with Sonia ji after my parents were killed. He asked me where I want to live. I told him I wants to go to my maternal aunt's house in Chandigarh. He immediately ordered that my grandfather be transferred to Chandigarh as Punjab governor."

"Sonia ji's blessings have always een with me. I attended Priyanka ji's wedding and she too came for my first wedding. When Ashok Tanwar decided to marry me, he approached Ashok Gehlot (now Rajasthan CM), but he was told to seek permission from Sonia ji first. She asked me whether I was happy with the proposal. I replied in the affirmative. She blessed us both," recounts Avantika.

"What else could Ashok (Tanwar) do? His self-respect hurt, he was forced to quit," she said, referring to her husband's removal from the post of the state president. He has parted company with the Congress, "but our family tieup shall remain forever, she said, adding that she would work for her husband to return to the Congress one day, pointing out that she always believes to be a part of the Congress. Was my maternal grandfather not a devoted Congressman, she asked.