'We were enemies': Sonia Gandhi reveals bitter family feud with Maneka in new memoir

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has opened up about her strained relationship with sister-in-law Maneka Gandhi. She has described how domestic disagreements and political differences eventually led to a bitter split in the Nehru-Gandhi family.

In her memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on Tuesday, Gandhi recalls Maneka's entry into the family following her marriage to Sanjay Gandhi in 1974 and the tensions that emerged in the years that followed.

"Maneka was...full of zest. It was refreshing at first to have a younger sister-in-law in the house. But slowly, the atmosphere began to change, with irritations cropping up in the home," she writes.

Gandhi says she initially regarded Maneka and herself as equal members of the household but felt that her younger sister-in-law interpreted their relationship differently.

"...but she probably saw it as a putdown. When she spoke rudely, by and large I'd remain silent to keep the peace, but when I felt it had gone too far, I wouldn't hold back and would respond curtly," she recalls.

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Tensions between Sanjay and Rajiv

According to the memoir, disagreements between Sanjay and Maneka also became increasingly apparent to other family members.

Gandhi writes that their arguments sometimes grew heated, while Maneka's language during disagreements surprised the family.

"When annoyed, she would use expletives, even in the presence of my mother-in-law, that were taboo in the home; they embarrassed him and shocked us. Living in our joint family couldn't have been easy for a young girl with a sociable and gregarious temperament," she writes.

Gandhi claims that Maneka's growing involvement in Sanjay's political activities also affected his relationship with Rajiv Gandhi.

She recalls a confrontation in which Rajiv blamed Sanjay for political setbacks suffered by their mother, then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

"I cannot forgive you, Sanjay, you have brought Ma to this pass," Rajiv told his younger brother.

"What Rajiv said is true, Sanjay! How many times you gave orders without my knowledge," Indira said.

According to Gandhi, Maneka intervened in the discussion, further worsening relations within the family.

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'As far as she was concerned, we were enemies'

The memoir also alleges that Maneka began sharing negative accounts about the family with journalists.

"As far as she was concerned, we were enemies. She spread stories about us through journalists with whom she was in touch. The one that galled us most was the outright lie that Rajiv and I had intended to flee the country when the elections were lost," Gandhi writes.

The differences became more pronounced after Sanjay died in an aircraft crash on June 23, 1980.

Gandhi writes that Maneka's mother was believed to be encouraging Sanjay's supporters to demand a political role for his widow.

However, Indira felt that Maneka, then 23 and caring for her infant son Feroze Varun Gandhi, should wait before assuming a leadership position, according to the memoir.

Gandhi also recalls Indira's disappointment after learning that Varun's first birthday had been celebrated at the residence of Vasundhara Raje, whose family had political differences with the Congress.

The subsequent sale of Maneka's 'Surya' magazine to an RSS member deepened the rift, Gandhi writes. "With this act Maneka had crossed all limits. To my mother-in-law, it was a deliberate challenge."

Maneka's departure became a 'reality show'

Gandhi recounts that Indira eventually confronted Maneka over her political activities and asked her to choose between changing course and leaving the family home.

"Maneka returned a missive full of accusations, obviously meant to damage her mother-in-law. It became clear that she was intent on creating a furore by which she would leave the house, placing the blame publicly on Mrs Gandhi," Gandhi writes.

She alleges that Maneka subsequently blamed Indira, Rajiv and Sonia for her departure.

"The manner in which the whole incident was manipulated, the propaganda circus that followed, turned that sordid event into what would be termed today a 'reality show'," Gandhi writes.