NEW delhi, Aug. 29 -- Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's book deal with Penguin Random House India (PRHI) fell through after she refused to make changes to or delete references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Chinese intrusions into India, HT has learnt. Gandhi, 79, maintained that it is her story and there was no question of allowing any distortions to her telling of her life, a person aware of the matter said, asking not to be named. The Indian edition of the book is likely to have a different cover than the close-up headshot featured in the international edition. The Indian book jacket is likely to feature Sonia Gandhi in a saree, a photograph taken by her husband and former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, HT has learnt. Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin, is expected to release the memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', worldwide on November 10. HarperCollins in reportedly close to finalising an agreement to publish and distribute the book in India. Harper Collins declined comment for this story. One of Gandhi's aides told HT about some of the sections that PRHI wanted removed. Primary among them were her recollections and observations about her meetings with Modi. The aide confirmed that she has gone into details about his comments about her and cited one calling her a "Jersey cow" at a public rally in Gujarat in 2004. "She has had a long career in politics, and therefore her memoir is expansive. She has certainly given her impressions of the Prime Minister and details of what happened when they met," said the aide. "As a politician, she mentions how this issue was handled, but the publisher had problems with it." PRHI initially objected to several passages, according to this person, but the book deal finally broke down over three or four crucial passages which Gandhi refused to alter or remove.HT learns that Gandhi compares Modi to other prime ministers in the memoir. It is unclear exactly what Gandhi is reported to have written on the RSS. PRHI issued a statement, maintaining that any suggestion that it decided not to publish the memoir because Gandhi declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances. "As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact-check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books. This is a normal part of the publishing process. Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India's position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book." The Congress dismissed the statement. "If Penguin worldwide has published, then... [PRHI] claim of fact-checking is ridiculous," said the aide cited above. Independent literary agents handled the memoir, and most Congress leaders are unaware of the full contents. PRHI objected to Gandhi's references to the India-China relationship and intrusions into Indian territory, according to the aide. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, have been demanding the government come clean on the situation at the Line of Actual Control with China. They have accused the government of making false claims. In February, much of Parliament's budget session was disrupted over former army chief General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir, which PRHI commissioned. The book was printed, e-commerce sites were taking pre-orders for it, when it was abruptly withdrawn citing the fact that Naravane had not sought clearance for it. Opposition parties disrupted the House, demanding that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak about it. Speaker Om Birla did not allow Gandhi to refer to an article about the Naravane memoir, citing rules. Senior ministers also opposed it. The impasse started when Rahul Gandhi wanted to refer to a magazine article with excerpts from Naravane's unpublished memoir. Outside the House, Gandhi carried a copy of Naravane's book and said that he would present it to Modi if the Prime Minister came to Parliament. He maintained that the "book clearly states that when the Chinese army had entered our border, in such a critical moment, the Army Chief was made to wait. And when the time came to take a decision, the Prime Minister simply said - 'Do whatever you think is appropriate'." Gandhi alleged that Naravane wrote that he felt the political leadership had "left the army alone." Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi criticised PRHI's statement on Sonia Gandhi's memoir, calling it weak. "Penguin India is more than happy to publish 'Exam Warriors' and several books on RSS. No doubt there are those in the BJP government who have now become afraid of a book being...read by the people of India," Gogoi said on X. Exam Warriors, authored by Modi is an extension of the Prime Minister's programme called Pareeksha pe Charcha. It is a compilation of his advice to students taking exams about how to deal with stress....