Sonia Gandhi says she has had little direct contact with Prime Minister Modi but points to shared unease with India’s ruling elite
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In her memoir, former Congress leader Sonia Gandhi describes sparse personal interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while also noting that both have at times voiced discomfort with the country’s entrenched elite and the politics that sustain it.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote in her 544-page memoir Belonging that she has had "practically no real contact" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meeting him only at semi-official events such as gatherings in the Speaker’s chamber. She described their encounters as stiff and ceremonial, saying Modi often avoids eye contact, a detail that underscores the distance between two leaders who embody sharply different political traditions.
Gandhi said the two leaders hold different ideological visions: Modi pursues his own concept of India, while she advocates an India focused on inclusiveness, secularism and social justice. She emphasized that the rivalry is not personal, framing the divide as one of competing ideas about the nation rather than private hostility.
Nevertheless, Gandhi identified areas of common ground, observing that both have expressed discomfort with the country's ruling elite and that Modi’s rise was shaped by his background in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). She attributed Modi’s critical remarks about Jawaharlal Nehru to his “conditioning” by the RSS, portraying his worldview as deeply molded by the organization’s ideological influence.
The memoir also covers Gandhi’s personal history, including her early life in Italy and the United Kingdom, her marriage, family experiences, and her battle with breast cancer.