Sonia Gandhi says PM Modi avoids eye contact in new memoir
The former Congress president claims her interactions with the Prime Minister are limited to formal greetings at semi-official gatherings.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has written that she has had practically no real contact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In her 544-page memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, which was released in bookstores across India on Tuesday, Gandhi says their encounters are mostly restricted to semi-official gatherings, such as at the Speaker's chamber.
According to reports from Times Now, Moneycontrol, and The Pioneer, Gandhi claims that when the two leaders meet face-to-face, they exchange a formal namaste. She wrote that the Prime Minister tends to look away and avoid eye contact with her, noting that this differs from the past when leaders across party lines treated each other with more cordiality.
Gandhi stated that their political rivalry is based on different visions for India rather than personal differences. She described her vision as one for an India that stands for inclusiveness, secularism, and social justice, while the Prime Minister fights for his own vision. She noted that the contest was not personal.
The memoir also discusses the Prime Minister's rise through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). While Gandhi acknowledged he worked his way to power from an underprivileged background, she suggested his origins might not be as humble as his public relations team has portrayed.
The book, published by HarperCollins India, also covers Gandhi's personal history, including her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi in 1968, the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and her decision regarding the prime ministership in 2004.