Pranab hinted at PM ambition, suggested leadership change in 2010: says Sonia
She rejects claims of being a "back-seat driver" during UPA government, saying Manmohan Singh led the government while she managed Congress
Sonia Gandhi reveals in her memoir that Pranab Mukherjee hinted at his ambition to become Prime Minister during a conversation in 2010
She rejects claims of being a "back-seat driver" during the UPA government, saying Manmohan Singh led the government while she managed the Congress party
Sonia Gandhi dismisses allegations of interfering in government affairs, citing the PMO's denial and Manmohan Singh's daughter's defence of their relationship
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has recalled how senior party leader Pranab Mukherjee hinted at his long-held ambition to become prime minister during a conversation in 2010, suggesting that it might be time for a change in leadership, according to her newly released memoir.
In Belonging: A Journey of Love, Sonia Gandhi recounts an incident in which Mukherjee, following differences with then finance minister P. Chidambaram, expressed his frustration and suggested that perhaps "it was time for a change at the top". Sonia Gandhi interpreted the remark as an indication of Mukherjee's desire to become prime minister.
"I gently changed the subject, and though he may have been disappointed, he never made me feel he held it against me," Sonia Gandhi writes in the book, published by HarperCollins India.
The memoir also addresses allegations that Sonia Gandhi exercised control over the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from behind the scenes while Manmohan Singh served as prime minister between 2004 and 2014.
Rejecting the description of herself as a "back-seat driver", Sonia Gandhi says there was a clear division of responsibilities between the government and the party, with Singh leading the government and her overseeing the Congress organisation.
She writes that although she could offer Singh suggestions or disagree with his decisions as Congress president, she considered it her responsibility to respect his position as prime minister.
Sonia Gandhi also says she was determined not to create misunderstandings that could weaken the government or give political opponents an opportunity to exploit internal differences.
The memoir describes the coordination mechanism between the party and government, including weekly meetings of a core group with the prime minister. Its members included Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, A.K. Antony and Ahmed Patel.
Sonia Gandhi recalls that Mukherjee would sometimes stay back after meetings for informal conversations. During one such interaction in 2010, he reportedly raised the possibility of a leadership change.
Two years later, the Congress-led UPA nominated Mukherjee as its candidate for President of India. He went on to win the presidential election in 2012, becoming the country's 13th president.
Sonia Gandhi says she continued to visit Mukherjee, valuing his political experience and knowledge.
The Congress leader also strongly rejects allegations that she interfered in government administration, sought official files from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) or influenced key appointments during the UPA years.
She describes such claims as fabricated and says the allegations caused her particular distress because she had always been careful to follow established rules and maintain the distinction between the party and the government.
According to Sonia Gandhi, the PMO had issued a statement categorically denying that official files had ever been shown to her.
She also cites comments by Manmohan Singh's daughter, Upinder Singh, who had criticised a book by one of the former Prime Minister's aides for making allegations against Sonia Gandhi. Upinder had described the publication as a betrayal of trust and maintained that her father's relationship with Sonia Gandhi was based on mutual trust and respect.
Sonia Gandhi says the allegations nevertheless became part of a wider political narrative portraying her as the person exercising real authority behind the prime minister.
Through the memoir, Sonia Gandhi offers her account of the internal functioning of the UPA government, her relationship with Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leaders, and the controversies surrounding her role in the government during its decade in power.
With PTI inputs