The Congress’ counter-attack was to be expected. Having vented his angst in the just-published One Life Is not Enough — An Autobiography , former Gandhi family loyalist and Foreign Minister K Natwar Singh is more than prepared for it. He fobs off his former party’s barbs with élan, and with barely-suppressed pride, discloses that his book has already sold an overwhelming 40,000 copies. So, his ex-boss, Manmohan Singh, was not entirely wrong in citing “capital gains” as a reason for his book project. What is unexpected is that, almost inadvertently, the elderly politician still retains vestiges of affection and regard for Congress President Sonia Gandhi. And, as he told BusinessLine in an interview, he still believes that the Gandhis are the Congress’ best bet to return to power. Excerpts from the interview:

There is a natural presumption about the timing of your tell-all book — it is easy to attack the Congress and the Gandhis after they have lost the election. Surely you know you would have much more credibility if you attacked Mrs Gandhi when she was reigning supreme. So, the question is, why wait for almost ten years?

Who would have heard me out then? My publishers would have been made mince meat of. They (the Congress, when it was in power) would have never let a book like this come out. And let me tell you, I started writing this book in December 2011. Do you think I had any idea that the Congress would be reduced to 44 seats from 206 in just three years?

I finished the book in January 2014 and then proofs had to be corrected and so on. How was I supposed to know that the Congress would lose so badly?

That’s a bit disingenuous. After all, you did meet Narendra Modi in the run-up to the election campaign. And there was an overall perception that the Congress would do badly in the elections…

Yes, there was an overall view. But no one knew they would do so badly. And unlike Sanjay Baru, I didn’t publish before the elections. I didn’t want to make “capital gains” as Manmohan Singh has implied, an implication which I think is very vulgar.

I did meet Modi on February 4. My son was with me. But I wasn’t seeking any favours.

What did Modi say to you?

He is a man of few words. But he told me he thought the party was being over-confident. He was also concerned about his message not reaching all parts of the country.

What I told him was that I hadn’t met him to seek any favours. I am a Nehruvian and will remain so till the end. But I did talk about the need to improve relations with our immediate neighbours. He seems to have heard me out. He invited the SAARC heads for his swearing-in.

How do you view the Gandhis’ prospects? Do you think Rahul Gandhi has it in him to steer the Congress out of this mess?

Rahul Gandhi is a very fine young man. He reads a great deal.

What he lacks is fire in the belly, the urgency. And he is talking about the youth; is Mallikarjun Kharge a young man? Why hasn’t Rahul become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha? A party needs leadership, it is not a philosophical question. And who was the star campaigner for the Congress?

Who is responsible for the defeat? These questions need to be answered.

But I don’t agree with all this talk of dynasty rule. They are an elected dynasty like so many others in the country. People chose to elect Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. And one more thing — if Sonia Gandhi was not there, the Congress’ tally would have slipped from 44 to 4. If you take away the Gandhis, the Congress will split in five factions.

After all the bitterness, this seems rather kind to Mrs Gandhi?

I have the ability to see the good with the bad. Regardless of how I was treated, I will always maintain that Sonia Gandhi is a woman with impeccable character. Her devotion to the family is complete and there was no man in her life other than Rajiv Gandhi.

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