Rahul Gandhi, newly elected president of India’s main opposition Congress party, kisses the forehead of his mother and leader of the party Sonia Gandhi after taking charge as the president during a ceremony at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday. Legend has it that when Congress leaders pressed Rajiv Gandhi to occupy the prime minister’s chair after the assassination of his mother Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi begged him not to, fearful about her family’s safety. Sonia Gandhi took a back seat after several rounds of illness recently, for which she had be hospitalised. Born to Italian parents in Lusiana, Vicenza (Italy), on 9 December 1946, Sonia Gandhi met Rajiv Gandhi in England where she was studying. At a personal level, Sonia Gandhi has authored two books on her husband, Rajiv and Rajiv’s World, and has edited two volumes of letters exchanged between Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Source: Mint December 16, 2017 10:18 UTC