NEW DELHI : “The Red Sari” is not a historical account of Sonia Gandhi and puts her in good light but it could not be published in India around four years ago because of “poor PR people” of Congress, says its author Javier Moro.
“I never thought that the book would create a scandal. It is never a political book. I just wanted to tell the story of a remarkable lady from Italy who came from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful figures in India,” he told reporters here.
“The Red Sari: A Dramatized Biography of Sonia Gandhi”, first published in Spanish with the title “El Sari Rojo: Cuando la vida es el precio del poder” in 2008, had created a controversy with the Congress chief’s lawyers then describing it as containing “untruths, half truths, falsehoods and defamatory statements” and serving Moro with a legal notice in 2010.
The author denied charges of inventing conversations saying, literature allows that and his book is only recreating the life of a person in a dramatic way. He also claimed there is no defamation in the 455-page book translated by Peter J Hearn.
“I have not invented a single thing that could be sued for libel.”
He said he could not find any reason why Congress opposed the book.
“The book puts Sonia Gandhi in good light. I still wonder why Congress was against publishing it. The whole issue was blown out of proportion by poor PR people of Congress.
“Congress wanted to project her as a marble figure or an idol which cannot be approached easily.”
According to Pramod Kapoor, founder-publisher of Roli Books, the book has survived on its own. (AGENCIES)
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