Sonia Gandhi says she barely met Prime Minister Modi, but admits some overlap in their concerns about India’s old elite
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In her memoir, former Congress leader Sonia Gandhi recalls limited personal interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi while acknowledging occasional agreement on criticism of India’s entrenched political class.
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 formal, noting that Modi often avoids eye contact, a sign of the cool distance between two leaders with very different political styles.
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, presenting the disagreement as a broader clash of ideas rather than a personal feud.
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, even while acknowledging that their critiques of the elite sometimes overlap.
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.