The political discussions between Sonia and I were exclusive, serious and to the point. Our informal chat sessions, though, were a delight. On returning from one of my trips abroad, ‘I missed you,’ were her opening words. Sonia was becoming less diffident in public, but still had a long way to go. In a male-dominated society, she could never relax. Even in the Working Committee meetings, she was taut, and spoke very little.
Jairam once invited Sonia’s wrath for an indiscretion. She refused to see him. Banishment from the darbar was the ultimate manifestation of her displeasure. Jairam could not take it beyond a week. He came to see me, distraught and anguished. ‘Sir, if she does not see me, I don’t know what I will do,’ he declared. I told him, ‘Ramesh, whatever you wish to do, please don’t do it in this room.’ I asked him to calm down, assuring him that I would speak to Sonia. I did, telling her about Jairam’s agitation. Sonia eventually relented and Jairam lived happily ever after. [...]
Between 2000 and 2003, Sonia travelled to the US, where she met dignitaries such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She also visited Oxford and Hong Kong. I accompanied her on these trips. She was a different person abroad, relaxed, amusing, less demanding and more considerate.
In New York there occurred an incident worth recounting. Sonia and her delegation – Manmohan Singh, Murli Deora, Jairam Ramesh and I – stayed in the Carlyle Hotel, where we arrived late in the evening. To my horror, I discovered that the New York authorities had not provided any security for Sonia. Anyone could walk into her suite. Sonia made light of it, but I immediately telephoned Prime Minister Vajpayee. It was nearly midnight in Delhi. I told the PM that it was too risky to leave Sonia without any security. The large-hearted Vajpayee said he would get back to me. Half an hour later, Lalit Mansingh, our Ambassador in Washington, was on the line. He said that the PM had just called him and asked him to ensure immediately that Sonia Gandhi was given a security detail. He was as good as his word.
In 2004, the NDA, led by Atal Bihari Vajpeyee, lost the Lok Sabha elections. They could not manage to sell the ‘India Shining’ mantra to the voting public. Sonia and the leaders of several non-NDA parties put together the United Progressive Alliance with Sonia as chairperson. The expectation was that Sonia would occupy 7 Race Course Road as Prime Minister.
The Gandhi family, however, was a house divided. Rahul was vehemently opposed to his mother becoming Prime Minister, fearing that she would lose her life, much like his grandmother and his father. Matters reached a climax after Rahul said that he was prepared to take any possible step to prevent his mother from taking up the prime ministership. Rahul is a strong-willed person; this was no ordinary threat. He gave Sonia twenty-four hours to decide. Manmohan Singh, Suman Dubey, Priyanka and I were present at that moment.
Sonia was visibly agonized and in tears. As a mother, it was impossible for her to ignore Rahul. He had his way. That was the reason for her not becoming Prime Minister.
Only Manmohan Singh and I were aware of Sonia’s decision. Later, she called a meeting in which she announced that she was offering the post of PM to Manmohan Singh.
Once, I pulled Sonia’s leg on this, telling her that only two people in history had refused the crown, both Italians by birth.
‘Who is the other?’ she asked. ‘Julius Caesar,’ I replied.
***
A few days before the new government was sworn in, Sonia hosted a dinner on the lawns of 10 Janpath. Amar Singh came along with Harkishan Singh Surjeet. At the dinner, Manmohan informally told me that I was getting External Affairs and Arjun Singh, the Ministry of Human Resource Development. After dinner, Sonia asked me to come with her. She told me that she was under great pressure from various quarters, including the Americans, to not appoint me as External Affairs Minister. Would I consider taking another ministry? With some heat, I turned down her suggestion. I had been her principal foreign affairs adviser for several years. None in the party had the expertise or the experience I did. Did she feel I was not up to the job? ‘For heaven’s sake, Natwar, I am not an idiot,’ she replied with some asperity.
Rahul’s arrival, followed by a cute puppy, eased the tension. I asked him which of the books I had lent him he had read. He reads quite a lot and Sonia, too, is a voracious reader. He told me he had finished the autobiography of Shimon Peres and Anthony Sampson’s biography of Nelson Mandela. He had found the autobiography disappointing. He had yet to read Roosevelt’s biography by Conrad Black. Sonia asked Rahul which of my books the puppy had chewed. He did not remember the name. I gave him the title, Against All Enemies, a book analysing America’s war on terror by former US Chief Counter-Terrorism Adviser, Richard A. Clarke.
***
Once the UPA came to power, it was widely known that Sonia very discreetly monitored the functioning of the most important ministries in the government, displaying a Machiavellian side to her character. Even mine was not spared. There was a mole on my staff feeding false information to 10 Janpath. Little men can, without realizing, do much harm to institutions. While they are mere chaff, they destroy the wheat.
On 22 February 2005, I drove to 10 Janpath to accompany Sonia to her meeting with Afghanistan’s President, Hamid Karzai. The moment I entered the meeting room, she said, ‘I shall not be taken for granted. There will come a time when I will do something unpredictable.’ Then followed the outrageous remark, ‘You are getting involved in defence deals.’
This was verbal terrorism. Something snapped inside me. I said, ‘You are making a serious allegation and questioning my integrity, honour and honesty. You must provide evidence of these allegations. I am not enamoured of a ministership – I will resign, but questioning my integrity is unacceptable.’
There followed another preposterous insinuation: ‘There is a delegation from Africa and you have passed a file on some defence deals to Pranab Mukherjee.’
I said I had only spoken to him. ‘Do my signatures appear on the file?’ I enquired. She had no answer, and never referred to the matter again. Obviously, the mole was at work. It seems that she had access to confidential information.
Extracted with permission from ‘One Life is Not Enough – An Autobiography’ by K. Natwar Singh, published by Rupa.
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Jairam once invited Sonia’s wrath for an indiscretion. She refused to see him. Banishment from the darbar was the ultimate manifestation of her displeasure. Jairam could not take it beyond a week. He came to see me, distraught and anguished. ‘Sir, if she does not see me, I don’t know what I will do,’ he declared. I told him, ‘Ramesh, whatever you wish to do, please don’t do it in this room.’ I asked him to calm down, assuring him that I would speak to Sonia. I did, telling her about Jairam’s agitation. Sonia eventually relented and Jairam lived happily ever after. [...]
Between 2000 and 2003, Sonia travelled to the US, where she met dignitaries such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She also visited Oxford and Hong Kong. I accompanied her on these trips. She was a different person abroad, relaxed, amusing, less demanding and more considerate.
In New York there occurred an incident worth recounting. Sonia and her delegation – Manmohan Singh, Murli Deora, Jairam Ramesh and I – stayed in the Carlyle Hotel, where we arrived late in the evening. To my horror, I discovered that the New York authorities had not provided any security for Sonia. Anyone could walk into her suite. Sonia made light of it, but I immediately telephoned Prime Minister Vajpayee. It was nearly midnight in Delhi. I told the PM that it was too risky to leave Sonia without any security. The large-hearted Vajpayee said he would get back to me. Half an hour later, Lalit Mansingh, our Ambassador in Washington, was on the line. He said that the PM had just called him and asked him to ensure immediately that Sonia Gandhi was given a security detail. He was as good as his word.
In 2004, the NDA, led by Atal Bihari Vajpeyee, lost the Lok Sabha elections. They could not manage to sell the ‘India Shining’ mantra to the voting public. Sonia and the leaders of several non-NDA parties put together the United Progressive Alliance with Sonia as chairperson. The expectation was that Sonia would occupy 7 Race Course Road as Prime Minister.
The Gandhi family, however, was a house divided. Rahul was vehemently opposed to his mother becoming Prime Minister, fearing that she would lose her life, much like his grandmother and his father. Matters reached a climax after Rahul said that he was prepared to take any possible step to prevent his mother from taking up the prime ministership. Rahul is a strong-willed person; this was no ordinary threat. He gave Sonia twenty-four hours to decide. Manmohan Singh, Suman Dubey, Priyanka and I were present at that moment.
Sonia was visibly agonized and in tears. As a mother, it was impossible for her to ignore Rahul. He had his way. That was the reason for her not becoming Prime Minister.
Only Manmohan Singh and I were aware of Sonia’s decision. Later, she called a meeting in which she announced that she was offering the post of PM to Manmohan Singh.
Once, I pulled Sonia’s leg on this, telling her that only two people in history had refused the crown, both Italians by birth.
‘Who is the other?’ she asked. ‘Julius Caesar,’ I replied.
***
A few days before the new government was sworn in, Sonia hosted a dinner on the lawns of 10 Janpath. Amar Singh came along with Harkishan Singh Surjeet. At the dinner, Manmohan informally told me that I was getting External Affairs and Arjun Singh, the Ministry of Human Resource Development. After dinner, Sonia asked me to come with her. She told me that she was under great pressure from various quarters, including the Americans, to not appoint me as External Affairs Minister. Would I consider taking another ministry? With some heat, I turned down her suggestion. I had been her principal foreign affairs adviser for several years. None in the party had the expertise or the experience I did. Did she feel I was not up to the job? ‘For heaven’s sake, Natwar, I am not an idiot,’ she replied with some asperity.
Rahul’s arrival, followed by a cute puppy, eased the tension. I asked him which of the books I had lent him he had read. He reads quite a lot and Sonia, too, is a voracious reader. He told me he had finished the autobiography of Shimon Peres and Anthony Sampson’s biography of Nelson Mandela. He had found the autobiography disappointing. He had yet to read Roosevelt’s biography by Conrad Black. Sonia asked Rahul which of my books the puppy had chewed. He did not remember the name. I gave him the title, Against All Enemies, a book analysing America’s war on terror by former US Chief Counter-Terrorism Adviser, Richard A. Clarke.
***
Once the UPA came to power, it was widely known that Sonia very discreetly monitored the functioning of the most important ministries in the government, displaying a Machiavellian side to her character. Even mine was not spared. There was a mole on my staff feeding false information to 10 Janpath. Little men can, without realizing, do much harm to institutions. While they are mere chaff, they destroy the wheat.
On 22 February 2005, I drove to 10 Janpath to accompany Sonia to her meeting with Afghanistan’s President, Hamid Karzai. The moment I entered the meeting room, she said, ‘I shall not be taken for granted. There will come a time when I will do something unpredictable.’ Then followed the outrageous remark, ‘You are getting involved in defence deals.’
This was verbal terrorism. Something snapped inside me. I said, ‘You are making a serious allegation and questioning my integrity, honour and honesty. You must provide evidence of these allegations. I am not enamoured of a ministership – I will resign, but questioning my integrity is unacceptable.’
There followed another preposterous insinuation: ‘There is a delegation from Africa and you have passed a file on some defence deals to Pranab Mukherjee.’
I said I had only spoken to him. ‘Do my signatures appear on the file?’ I enquired. She had no answer, and never referred to the matter again. Obviously, the mole was at work. It seems that she had access to confidential information.
Extracted with permission from ‘One Life is Not Enough – An Autobiography’ by K. Natwar Singh, published by Rupa.
