The former US president’s blunt impressions of Indian leaders in his new book, A Promised Land, have caused repercussions in political circles.
Former US President Barack Obama’s descriptions of India’s leaders in his new memoir, A Promised Land, have caused repercussions in political circles, and former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh received praise.
The book, released Tuesday, covers his campaign for the White House and his first term, during which he visited India when the now-opposition Congress party was in power.
It contains his views on then-Prime Minister Singh, party chair Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi.
Obama describes Singh “as a leading architect of India’s economic transformation” and “a modest technocrat who had earned the trust of the people not by appealing to their passions, but by achieving higher living standards and maintaining a well-earned reputation. not to be corrupt. ” . “
Obama’s praise for Singh was welcomed by senior congressional leaders like Shashi Tharoor.
Congressional leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted that Obama did not name Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the book. [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]
But it is Obama’s frank and less than flattering description of Rahul Gandhi, the 50-year-old heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, that has drawn criticism from Congress party leaders.
“Rahul Gandhi has a nervous and reportless quality about him, as if he were a student who had done the course work and was eager to impress the teacher, but deep down lacked the aptitude or passion to master the subject,” he quoted The New York Book Times.
Rahul Gandhi was defeated twice by Prime Minister Modi in the 2014 and 2019 elections respectively. His grandmother, Indira Gandhi, and his father, Rajiv Gandhi, both assassinated, served as prime minister.
‘Divisive nationalism promoted by the BJP’
Congressional leader Tharoor tweeted that Obama did not name Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the book that has caused a stir in India.
“I have an advance copy of #APromisedLand from @ BarackObama and although I have not read every page, I did read every part of India marked on the Index. Great news: not much. Top news: At 902 pages, @narendramodi is not mentioned by name at all ”(sic), tweeted Tharoor, Member of Parliament for the state of Kerala, South India.
But the Indian side mentions Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Hindu Nationalist Party (BJP), and Obama writes of his concern about “divisive nationalism promoted by the BJP.”
Obama described Sonia Gandhi, Rahul’s mother, as a “canny” person with “blunt intelligence.” Rahul Gandhi, the former president of the United States further wrote, “He seemed smart and serious.”
Obama described Congressional Leader Rahul Gandhi, right, as having a “nervous and reportable quality” about him. [File: Altaf Hussain/Reuters]
He also wrote about the future of the Congress Party. “Would the baton be successfully passed to Rahul, fulfilling his mother’s destiny and preserving the congressional party’s grip on the divisive nationalism promoted by the BJP?” according to excerpts published by thewire.in.
Rahul has openly criticized Modi, attacking his government on charges of fueling religious nationalism and favoring business interests.
Modi’s last six years have seen an increase in attacks against minorities, especially Muslims, with scores of Muslims lynched by far-right Hindu mobs. Critics say a citizenship law passed last December, which sparked protests across the country, goes against the country’s secular constitution.
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