Sonia, India’s most powerful politician, also said in August 2006 she would “write a book someday with the whole story” as to why she did not take the job of premier in 2004 after engineering the Congress’ surprise election win.

The unusually unguarded comments came in a conversation with Maria Shriver, wife of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and were contained in a cable on the meeting marked “confidential.” The cable was titled, “A garrulous Sonia Gandhi opens up to Maria Shriver,” suggesting how freely the normally reticent Indian leader chatted.

Shriver met Italian-born Sonia on an official visit to India. A reading of the cable indicates the conversation might have been taped by accompanying US Embassy officials, the Times of India newspaper reported.

The cable says Sonia, who arrived in India as a shy bride in her early 20s, and is “reserved in public... revealed a rare glimpse of herself” as she spoke about women’s issues and political life.

“Her comments and demeanor put the lie to cocktail party suggestions that she courts Manmohan Singh’s job,” the cable said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a quiet economist who was vaulted to power when Sonia refused the premier’s job after leading Congress to power in 2004.

The cable says: “Sonia Gandhi revealed her own parents objected to her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi and she ‘resented their position’ and went ahead and married him anyway.”

Rajiv became premier in 1984 and was assassinated in 1991 by a suicide bomber.

The Congress leader, daughter of an Italian builder, met her husband in Cambridge, where he was studying at the university and she was studying English.

After her marriage she transformed into a sari-clad Indian who speaks fluent Hindi. Her years in the Gandhi household, when her strong-willed autocratic mother-in-law Indira — slain in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards — was premier, gave her an intimate insight into India’s turbulent politics.

Among other things, the cable revealed Sonia repeatedly implored her husband to avoid politics, fearing he too might meet a violent death. She took up politics after Rajiv’s death when “the right was becoming strong in India and Congress weak.”

The cable said Sonia revealed left-of-center leanings that supported a strong role for government in ensuring social progress and a staunch opposition to the social conservatism of the Hindu right.

“Despite her carefully erected Indian persona, her basic Italian personality is clearly evident in her mannerisms, speech and interests,” the cable added.

Meanwhile, in Delhi the Congress began its 83rd plenary session here Saturday with top party leaders finalising the draft resolutions to be adopted, which are likely to include the party’s projection as one with a “pan-India existence” and asking the government to probe the terror links of right-wing groups, like the RSS, party sources said.

Sonia chaired a meeting of the subjects committee to finalise the political, economic and foreign affairs resolutions which will be moved and adopted during the three-day event. Party sources said the political resolution will lay stress on the Congress being “the only national party which has a pan-India existence.” It will also touch on issues of probity in public life and the internal security challenges facing the country. According to sources, some members suggested that the links of right-wing groups, like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with terror should be “seriously investigated”.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the meeting, which lasted almost four hours, along with senior leaders, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and party treasurer Motilal Vora, at the Parliament House Annexe here.