Veteran actor Dalip Tahil has taken a sharp dig at Sonia Gandhi's recently released memoir, labelling it the 'Best own goal' in a video he posted on Instagram on Saturday, 14 November. The clip, in which Tahil speaks at length about the Indian National Congress's political legacy, the Gandhi family, and a comparison with Bharatiya Janata Party rule, has drawn considerable attention online.

What Tahil Said About the Memoir

The Baazigar actor opened his remarks by describing the book as 'a blueprint of the DNA of the Congress' and 'a shocking reflection on the first political family of this country.' He argued that the memoir strips away the mystique that had long surrounded the Gandhi family, revealing what he called 'feet of clay.'

'We all felt, and we believed there was a lot of depth. There was a lot of substance. There was a lot of political vision in this family, only to discover that really it was all feet of clay and, funnily enough, Sonia Gandhi has revealed this,' Tahil said in the video.

On Congress's Political Decline

Tahil recalled that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi first came to power, he was personally sceptical about how decisively the BJP would be able to displace the Congress, given the party's perceived depth and experience. In hindsight, he said, the answer was clear.

'He came and he just laughed and puff and blow your house down. And he did. And I always wondered, I said, like, "What happened to this great party? How did the Congress just get blown away?" And now we realise that at the time, it was very clear that they were just sycophants who hovered around like flies around the pot of honey. And then the pot of honey was not there or began to leak. So they all fled, never to be seen again,' he said.

Remarks on Public Perception and Foreign Origins

Tahil also reflected on what he described as a broader tendency among Indian voters to place individuals on a pedestal on account of their foreign origins — a pointed reference to Sonia Gandhi's Italian background. He acknowledged, however, that the absence of social media in earlier decades meant that voters had limited insight into how the Gandhi family truly thought.

'Well, at the time, I mean, you know, OK, I grant you that there was no social media. So we did not have insights into how the Gandhi family was truly thinking, which comes out now. And they were shocked to hear that this was the level at which they were. So I think they deserve to be gone,' he said.

Tahil's Broader Takeaway

The actor, who says he grew up under Congress rule and witnessed the party's style of governance first-hand, concluded that the memoir serves as a valuable historical document. He described it as 'a great source to understand what they all went through for those past 45 to 50 years' — framing Sonia Gandhi's own account as, inadvertently, the most damning indictment of the party's record.

The video has not drawn any public response from the Congress or the Gandhi family as of the time of publishing. Tahil's remarks are his personal opinion and do not represent the editorial position of NationPress.