New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi has said that she has never spoken face to face with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The autobiography “Blossoming: A Journey of Love,” written by Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi, was released yesterday. In this book, which has seven chapters and 544 pages, she recalls the important moments of her life.
She says in the autobiography:
During parliamentary sessions, it is customary for the leaders of the major political parties to gather in the Speaker’s chamber. The Speaker’s chamber is small. At that time, I would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We would simply greet each other.
In the past, when senior leaders met in the Speaker’s room, they would exchange pleasantries. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi would turn away. He would not look me in the eye or speak face to face. I have never spoken to him directly. At times, he has asked about my health. Even then, we have only exchanged a few words. Our principles are different. I follow the path of nonviolence shown by Mahatma Gandhi.
I follow a policy that embraces all communities, languages, cultures, and people of all religions. Prime Minister Modi was brought up by the RSS organization. He follows that organization’s principles. Politically, the two of us are different. But there is no personal enmity. The death of 59 kar sevaks on the Sabarmati Express train in 2002, and the riots that followed in Gujarat, were very tragic. He said this.
Sonia Gandhi has spoken about various issues, including the differences that arose between Indira Gandhi and Menaka Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee’s dream of becoming Prime Minister, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s attraction to women.
I turned down the Prime Minister’s post
Before the results of the 2004 Lok Sabha election were even announced, I had decided that I should not accept the post of Prime Minister. Because of the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv, my son Rahul and daughter Priyanka were deeply affected. They worried that if I became Prime Minister, the same fate could befall me as well. Even after the election results, senior Congress leaders urged me to take office as Prime Minister. But I firmly refused, Sonia Gandhi has said in her autobiography.
Indira, prepared for death
When officials showed then Prime Minister Indira the photographs related to Operation Blue Star, she shed tears. After that, she received numerous death threats. Indira Gandhi spoke openly about this to her grandson Rahul at the time. “I am prepared to face death. You must be brave. Under no circumstances should you cry,” she said. Five months after Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her own bodyguards.
First child death
On January 18, 1969, my first child was born. Since the baby was born prematurely, it was kept in an incubator for care. But the next day, the baby died. According to religious customs, they insisted that the child’s body be thrown into the river. I could not accept this. I said that I did not want my child’s body, thrown into the river, to wash ashore and be dragged away by dogs. Later, the child’s body was buried at Feroze Gandhi’s farmhouse in Mehrauli.