Sonia Gandhi says she opposed Rajiv becoming PM, hints at memoir controversy

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has revealed that she was “totally against” her husband Rajiv Gandhi becoming Prime Minister, saying her upcoming memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, could trigger a “tamasha (commotion)” by offering her personal account of events.

“When my husband was asked to become Prime Minister, which I was totally against,” Sonia Gandhi said in a video shared on her social media accounts on Tuesday.

Explaining her decision to write the memoir, she said it gave her an opportunity to record events as she experienced them.

“Some people may change their view about me. Some people's view may become worse, but that's what it is. That's what happens when you write a book or when you are in public life. There's bound to be a tamasha, as you would say it here,” she said.

The memoir is scheduled for publication on November 10. It traces Sonia Gandhi’s journey from her childhood in Italy to her decades in Indian politics, covering personal tragedies and key moments in the Nehru-Gandhi family.

The book is expected to revisit Rajiv Gandhi’s entry into politics, the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991. It also examines Sonia Gandhi’s emergence as a political leader and her role in rebuilding the Congress.

Another major episode is her decision to decline the Prime Minister’s post after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won the 2004 general election. Manmohan Singh became Prime Minister instead.

Sonia Gandhi’s opposition to Rajiv Gandhi becoming Prime Minister was also depicted in Javier Moro’s biographical novel Red Sari, which portrayed her as fearing that the decision could cost him his life.

Sonia Gandhi shared the video on October 22, marking her debut on Instagram and X. In it, she received copies of the memoir and shared sweets with her daughter, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

She described the book as a story of “love, duty, loss and finding a place to belong”.