Rajiv Gandhi sent troops to Sri Lanka without

consulting Cabinet, Natwar Singh says

Natwar Singh.
TNN | ul !", #$"%
N&' (&L)*+ &stranged Gandhi ,a-ily loyalist Natwar Singh in an interview to .aran
Thapar on )eadlines Today clai-ed ,or-er /ri-e 0inister Rajiv Gandhi sent troops
to Sri Lanka without consulting his Cabinet1 The Sri Lankan ethnic issue was
-ishandled which resulted in the the assassination o, Rajiv Gandhi, he added1
*n the interview, Natwar also clai-ed it was Rahul Gandhi2s ulti-atu- to 3do
anything3 that prevented Sonia ,ro- taking up the post o, pri-e -inister in #$$%,
contradicting the Congress chie,2s #$$% clai- that she was ,ollowing her 3inner voice3
in renouncing the high o,,ice1
3Rahul was totally against her -other beco-ing /01 )e said she would be killed like
his ,ather and grand-other and as a son he would not allow her to beco-e the /01 )e
was very ada-ant and was prepared to take any step to prevent his -other ,ro- being
/0,3 Singh said, adding that being a doting -other Sonia heeded his son2s pressure1
)e said a -eeting was held on 0ay "4, #$$% where 0an-ohan Singh, Gandhi ,a-ily
,riend Su-an (ubey, /riyanka and he were present, and /riyanka conveyed Rahul2s
#%5hour deadline, leading to Sonia withdraw her na-e and no-inate 0an-ohan
Singh ,or pri-e -inistership1
*/.6 soldiers during their pullout ,ro- Sri Lanka1 7Getty *-ages photo81
The revelation ahead o, the launch o, Natwar2s -uch5awaited -e-oirs, contradicts
Sonia2s 3inner voice3 clai- that Congress-en have held up as sign o, ulti-ate political
sacri,ice since the 9/: ca-e to power trouncing the ;/5led N(:1
R&:( :LS<+ Natwar Singh2s book to spill Congress secrets=
Given the e-barrass-ent that the revelation could -ake, Sonia and /riyanka -et hi-
on 0ay > and urged hi- to keep it out o, his book1 Singh underlined the i-portance o,
the revelation by stressing that it was ,or the ,irst ti-e since his e?it ,ro- Congress
over 2oil5,or5,ood2 sca- that the Gandhi ,a-ily -e-bers had -et hi-1
The re-arks upset the Congress1 Congress spokes-an :jay 0aken said, 3*t has
beco-e ,ashionable to sensationali@e the contents o, a book with the sole ai- o,
ensuring better sales and ,ree publicity13 :bhishek Singhvi said Singh had an
uncere-onious e?it ,ro- the 9/: govern-ent a,ter the #$$A Bolcker Co--ittee
Report and his co--ents were politically -otivated1
*n another e-barrassing revelation, Singh said Sonia had access to the govern-ent
,iles and /ulok Chatterjee, *:S o,,icer in /0<, used to take the- to her1
This is second such clai- a,ter ,or-er -edia advisor to 0an-ohan Singh Sanjaya
;aru2s book created a ,urore by stating that Chatterjee used to take ,iles to Sonia, and
contradicts Congress2s o,,icial narrative that party chie, never inter,ered with the
,unctioning o, the 0an-ohan Singh govern-ent1
6or-er /ri-e 0inister Rajiv Gandhi1 7Getty *-ages photo8
:ccording to Singh, there was no Cuestion o, protest over this practice since Sonia was
the 3,ore-ost3 leader1
The ,or-er -inister said his clai-s cannot be dis-issed as outpouring o, a -an
sacked ,ro- Congress1 )e said the very ,act that Sonia and /riyanka -et hi- barely
two -onths be,ore the book launch prove that they are correct1
3They did not co-e to have co,,ee with -e1 They did not co-e to have lunch with -e,3
he said1
The5then 9S secretary o, state Condolee@@a Rice, Sonia Gandhi and Natwar Singh in
New (elhi on 0arch "D, #$$A1 7:6/ ,ile photo8
:ccording to Singh, he was ,alsely i-plicated by the RS /athak inCuiry on Bolcker
report and added that there was evidence linking Congress to the -urky oil deals but
those docu-ents were suppressed1 )e said Sonia and /0 0an-ohan Singh pressured
/athak panel to indict hi-1
Talking about the Congress a,ter Rajiv Gandhi2s assassination, Singh said Sonia had
uneasy relations with /0 /B Narasi-ha Rao because o, her suspicion that the trial in
Rajiv -urder was being delayed1 )e said Rao had urged hi- to help clear the air, even
adding that he could take on Sonia but did not want to1
: -eeting was held at the residence o, old Gandhi ,a-ily con,idant 0oha--ed Eunus
in which the issues were discussed but Sonia had re-ained unconvinced1
Natwar, one o, the -ost trusted con,idants o, Sonia be,ore the ,alling out, also
highlighted the 0echiavellian side to Sonia2s personality saying that her control over
party bigger than the ,irst /ri-e 0inister had enjoyed, and that she was deter-ined to
have her way in all situations1
*n one instance, Sonia ,orced the veteran and ,or-er president o, Fa-bia .enneth
.aunda to shi,t ,ro- late Lalit Suri2s hotel to another one despite protests ,ro- the
veteran :,rican leader1
/osted by Thava-