Significance of 2004 NDTV Interview Increases Following Sonia Gandhi's New Memoir

Sonia Gandhi has recently released her memoir titled 'Belonging: A Journey of Love'. Following the publication of this book, her interview given to NDTV's 'Walk the Talk' programme in February 2004 is being revisited. In this conversation with journalist Shekhar Gupta, three months before the results of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Sonia Gandhi discussed her perspective on politics and her future plans.

According to the NDTV report, Sonia Gandhi had clearly stated in the 2004 interview that she never wanted to enter politics. She described politics in connection with personal loss and stated that she had always resisted this life. This point has now received further clarification in her book, where she revealed that she had already told her children that she would 'absolutely' not become the Prime Minister.

The book describes the private turmoil prior to the decision to nominate Manmohan Singh for the post of Prime Minister after the election results. According to the report, coalition leaders had pressured her, due to which she had said 'okay' in a very low voice. However, when her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi challenged this decision, she remained firm on her original refusal.

In the 2004 interview, Sonia Gandhi stated that the primary reason for joining public life was to stop the 'divisive agenda' of the BJP. At that time, she had criticised Atal Bihari Vajpayee's economic policies and rejected the BJP's claims of 'India Shining'. She had hinted that if the Congress came to power, Manmohan Singh would play a 'central role', which is exactly what happened.

Speaking about her family's struggles, Sonia Gandhi stated that she had wanted to stop her husband Rajiv Gandhi from entering politics as well. She said, "I was never keen to join politics. In fact, I did not want my husband to join politics because I had seen the struggles, negativity, and all kinds of allegations faced by my mother-in-law in her life."

Speaking about Indira Gandhi, she said that before her assassination in 1984, she had lived a life of service and great hardship. Sonia Gandhi added that after Indira Gandhi's assassination, there was an apprehension in the family that another attack would occur. She said, "After my mother-in-law was assassinated, I knew that he (Rajiv Gandhi) would also be assassinated. All of us, my children, knew it was only a matter of time before my husband would be killed."

According to the NDTV report, in the 2004 interview, she had not said anything directly about whether she would accept the post of Prime Minister, but her reluctance towards politics was clear. All these details have now become more meaningful in the context of her new book, showing that her disregard for power was not merely a public statement but her personal belief.

Rajiv Gandhi was the former Prime Minister, who was assassinated in May 1991 during election campaigning in Tamil Nadu.