Commenting on Prime Minster Manmohan Singh's former media adviser Sanjay Baru's memoir, former Member of Parliament (MP) Shahid Siddiqui on Saturday said Baru's memoir has confirmed that Congress President Sonia Gandhi did not let Dr. Singh work autonomously in the government.
"I have been saying whatever Baru has said for so many years. A government cannot work properly if the Prime Minister does not have any power with him. In this case, all the power use to rest with Sonia Gandhi and all the responsibilities use to lie with Manmohan Singh," said Siddiqui.
"Sonia is solely responsible for destroying the UPA, government and the financial situation of the country. She did not let Singh work autonomously and it was pretty visible to everybody. Baru's memoir has just confirmed this," Siddiqui added.
Former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian said there is nothing new in the memoir and the whole country was aware of it.
"There are just more details which are coming out. It was known to the whole country that the decision making power does not lie with Manmohan Singh, otherwise such massive scams would not have taken place. He just withdrew himself," said Subramanian. "He (Dr. Singh) is the chief of the executive according to our constitution and he was not able to utilise this position properly. This is being confirmed from the inside sources. Apart from this there is no new revelation in it," Subramanian added.
Sanjay Baru, who was the media advisor to Dr. Singh from 2004 to 2008, has claimed in his memoir named 'Manmohan Singh: The Accidental Prime Minister' that Dr. Singh had virtually surrendered to Sonia Gandhi.
Baru has also claimed in his memoir that Singh had reportedly told him that there cannot be two power centres in a government.
Meanwhile, in a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, Dr. Singh's Media Advisor Pankaj Pachauri said, "It is an attempt to misuse a privileged position and access to high office to gain credibility and to apparently exploit it for commercial gain. The commentary smacks of fiction and coloured views of a former adviser."
The statement recalled that the question about comments of the former media adviser was raised by senior editors when they met the Prime Minister in October last year. His answer was "- Do not believe all he is saying."
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