Sonia's reaction to my book shows it has touched a raw nerve: Natwar

Natwar Singh, former Congress leader, today said that the strong reaction from Sonia Gandhi to his new book, proves that it has touched a "raw nerve" and something has "upset" her so much that she came out.

He also claimed in an interview to NDTV that "50 Congressmen" called him to congratulate him for "telling the truth" in his new book.

Gandhi had yesterday said, "I will write my own book and then you will come to know everything...The only way truth will come out is if I write...I am serious about it and I will be writing."

Gandhi had responded to a question about the row triggered by the autobiography of Natwar Singh in which he claims that it was Rahul Gandhi's fear for her life that prevented her from becoming Prime Minister contracting her version that she heeded to her "inner voice" in not taking up the post.

Insisting that she was not hurt, Gandhi said that she had seen worse things like her husband Rajiv Gandhi being assassinated and her mother-in law Indira Gandhi riddled with bullets.

Natwar Singh said the very fact that Gandhi reacted to the contents in his book was "significant" as she had not reacted to the book by Sanjaya Baru, media adviser to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Why, because it touched a raw nerve, he was asked. Natwar Singh responded, "Obviously, that's something, you know, has upset her so much, that she came out. If I was advising her, I would say don't say anything."

On Manmohan Singh dubbing Natwar Singh's version of why Gandhi refused to become PM and on other issues as a "marketing gimmick", the former External Affairs Minister said, "facts are what Sanjaya Baru said and what I said and what many others have said."

Natwar Singh stuck to his remarks that Pulok Chatterjee, former PM's Principal Secretary, had taken official files to Gandhi. "Did he go to meet Sonia to have tea?", he asked.