Sonia Gandhi says she has had almost no personal interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In her new memoir, she writes that their meetings are limited to formal greetings. "He tends to look away, avoiding eye contact," she says. She describes their rivalry as a clash of two different visions.
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Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has revealed that she has had almost no personal interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi despite their long-standing political rivalry, saying their encounters are largely restricted to formal greetings at official gatherings.
In her new memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Gandhi writes that the two exchange a formal 'namaste' when they come face-to-face, but claims PM Modi generally avoids eye contact with her.
"To this day, I've had practically no real contact with him. We meet at semi-official gatherings - for instance, at the Speaker's chamber," she writes.
Describing their encounters, the former Congress president adds, "When he comes face-to-face with me, we greet each other with a formal namaste. This is different from the past, when leaders across party divides would treat one another with cordiality. He tends to look away, avoiding eye contact."
The 544-page memoir, which is scheduled to reach bookstores across India on November 10, also offers Gandhi's perspective on the ideological differences that have defined her political relationship with the Prime Minister.
She describes their political contest as a clash between two competing visions of India rather than a personal disagreement.
"He was fighting for his vision of India, and I for mine: an India against hegemony, an India that stands for inclusiveness, secularism, and social justice. It wasn't personal," she writes.
Sonia Gandhi acknowledges common ground with Modi
Despite their sharply contrasting political positions, Gandhi also identifies certain aspects of Modi's political journey that she says she could relate to.
She writes that she, too, had felt uncomfortable in elite social and political circles in Delhi, where discussions often appeared disconnected from the realities faced by ordinary Indians.
"There were elements of his discomfort with the ruling elite of our times that I, too, had come to understand well," she writes.
Gandhi also acknowledges Modi's rise from an underprivileged background through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), noting that he had worked his way up within the organisation.
"He had certainly worked his way to power within the RSS from an underprivileged world," she writes.
The former Congress chief also attributes Modi's critical remarks about India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to what she describes as his conditioning within the RSS.
Beyond contemporary politics, Belonging: A Journey of Love traces Gandhi's journey from her childhood in post-war Italy to her eventual place at the centre of Indian politics.
The memoir revisits her early years in Italy, her time in the United Kingdom, her meeting with Rajiv Gandhi at Cambridge and their eventual marriage in 1968.
It also offers personal recollections of her relationship with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, her mother-in-law, and the circumstances surrounding her decision to move to India before marrying Rajiv Gandhi.
Among the personal experiences discussed in the book are the loss of her first-born child, the assassinations of Indira Gandhi in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, and her battle with breast cancer, including the treatment she underwent in Milan.
The book also examines how personal loss and her relationship with India shaped her eventual entry into public life and her rise within the Congress.
In an earlier statement shared on social media, Gandhi explained why she decided to write her memoir, saying she had reached a point where she wanted to present her own account rather than respond to every narrative written about her and her family.
"A long time ago Rajiv and I realised that there was no point in trying to keep up with all that had been written about us. But, as I say in the book, there came a time when I felt that I should tell my own story," she said in a statement to The Hindu.
Ahead of the book's release, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to his mother, highlighting her six decades in public life.
"Sixty years in public life, and still the same person. Proud of you, Ma," he wrote in a post on X.
Rahul also shared an excerpt from his mother's interaction with The Hindu, in which she reflected on the personal values that had remained constant throughout her life.
"The values that I learnt growing up survive. I have tried my best to be true to them: loyalty to family and friends, sincerity and feeling for others, the idea of being dutiful and responsible," Sonia Gandhi said.
The memoir is being published in India by HarperCollins, which announced that it would be available at bookstores nationwide from 10 am on November 10.
In a post on X on Monday, the publisher described the book as the story of a woman who fell in love with a man and a country, rebuilt her life and eventually dedicated herself to serving India.
The book will be available through several bookstore chains and independent outlets, including Bahrisons and Midland in Delhi, Higginbotham in Chennai, The White Crow and Title Waves in Mumbai, Mathrubhumi Books in Kerala, Blossoms and The Bookworm in Karnataka, and Crossword outlets across multiple states.