New Delhi, October 28: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in an interview to an English daily, touched upon many aspects of her life and revealed little known information from her life. From rarely smiling to smilingly more, her family being "fastidious" about pickle making, and on being compared to  former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she became the only woman Defence Minister after her. The Defence Minister, talking about the comparison, said that the "1971 war (credit) goes to her (Indira  Gandhi) but we equally remember her for the Emergency and its excesses."

Touching upon the Rafale deal, and her experience of flying the Sukhoi, Minister Sitharaman spoke at length on the various topics and issues. Talking about the fond memories of flying the Sukhoi jet, she said that, “More than the thrill, the feeling of having actually done it, was a proud moment for me.”

On asked whether she does smile more often now apparently than in the past, Sitharaman elaborated that she has always been strict and composed in her conduct and that even her daughter had told her to smile more. She narrated the importance of making pickles for her at home and said that it is almost like a ritual for her family and in-laws.

Talking to the Hindustan Times, the Defence Minister narrated how overwhelming it was to enter the Defence Ministry office, given the remarkable leaders who have held the portfolio before her. The Defence Minister also said that she does go back to former Defence Ministers Manohar Parrikar and Arun Jaitley for advice. She also spoke about her style of functioning and said that she sometimes runs the officers "out of patience" because of the "back-to-back" meetings and briefings that she conducts.

When asked if the Rafale jet deal could prove to be BJP's Bofors moment, Sitharaman replied saying "Bofors is Bofors. Rafale is a government (India) to government (France) agreement. There is no middle-man involved in the Rafale deal as they was in Bofors." Attacking the Gandhi family, the Defence Minister said that "there is no first family" in the BJP and this government.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 28, 2018 04:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).