New Delhi, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on Tuesday, offers an account of her decision to decline the Congress party’s offer to become Prime Minister in 2004 and nominate Dr Manmohan Singh for the country’s top executive post.
In the book, published by HarperCollins India, Gandhi describes Singh as a person of unquestionable integrity, with exceptional knowledge of governance and public administration. She believed his appointment would reassure different sections about the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s ability to govern effectively and continue the economic policies initiated in earlier years, according to an NDTV report.
“There were several senior colleagues, seasoned and qualified for the post, who would have been more than willing to accept it but among all of them was one who had long been in my sight as a person above reproach, and possessed a deep and consummate understanding of governance. That was Dr Manmohan Singh, a member of the Congress Working Committee,” Gandhi wrote.
She recalled Singh’s contribution to India’s economic transformation as an experienced economist and Finance Minister in the early 1990s under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. His role in introducing economic reforms, she said, was an important factor in her assessment of his suitability.
Gandhi also noted that Singh was not aligned with any particular faction within the Congress. With the Communist parties supporting the UPA government, she felt his appointment would help address doubts about the government’s political and economic direction.
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“He was not allied to any camp in the party. Over a period of time, the Congress had been painted as being left of centre, and our government would now be supported by the Communist parties as well. I thought Dr Manmohan Singh would assuage the doubts of many about our ability to manage and continue the policies that had been begun years ago,” NDTV quoted her as saying.
Reflecting on Singh’s personal journey, Gandhi recalled that he was born into a Sikh family in a village in Punjab that is now in Pakistan. He lost his mother at a young age and overcame considerable hardships before pursuing higher education at Oxford and Cambridge.
“His keen intellect and hard work had taken him from a remote village school to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and on from there to international fora. Aside from all his accomplishments as a scholar and technocrat, what I knew best about Dr Singh was that he had a kind and compassionate heart, and his integrity unquestionable,” she wrote.
Gandhi said Singh’s honesty, compassion and experience convinced her that the country would be in safe hands under his leadership. She also recalled consulting senior Congress colleagues before proposing his name, saying none opposed the choice or questioned his experience and reputation.
The memoir further describes how Singh was discreetly approached to ascertain whether he would accept the responsibility. Although he initially expressed reluctance, discussions eventually persuaded him to take up the post.
Gandhi also recounted the events of May 18, 2004, when she accompanied Singh to Rashtrapati Bhawan during the government formation process. She described the emotional significance of returning to the building, which she had visited earlier with her mother-in-law and husband Rajiv Gandhi.
She recalled that there had been no discussion about the Prime Minister’s post during their journey back to her residence at 10, Janpath, as Singh, like others, had naturally assumed that she would become the country’s next Prime Minister.
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