'Coincidence' and bloopers

Compere Shivani Wazir was factually wrong while speaking about Indira Gandhi at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry event

While welcoming Rahul Gandhi at the event of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), its president Gopal Jiwarajka suggested a coincidence: The Congress vice-president was preparing to take over as chief of the party and Jiwarajka was going to give up his post as president of the chamber. Jiwarajka said the weather was changing outside, but that it seemed to be changing in politics as well. There were some bloopers at the event. Compère Shivani Wazir, while introducing Gandhi to the audience, said that in 1968 a “gracious and articulate” woman attended a PHDCCI event and went on to become the prime minister of the country. That woman, she said, was Indira Gandhi. While Wazir’s comment was received with applause and its subtext about Rahul Gandhi’s future obvious to the audience, she was factually wrong. Indira Gandhi took the oath of office for the first time on January 24, 1966. She then led the Congress to an electoral victory in the 1967 Lok Sabha elections.