The Congress on Saturday termed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s former media advisor Sanjaya Baru’s book as the handiwork of “cheap fiction” put together by “an out of job, disgruntled turncoat” even as the Opposition latched on to it to shoot a 5-point poser to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi seeking to know if the Cabinet files were shared with her by the Government.
The Congress went all out to accuse Baru of serving the political agenda of the BJP given the timing of the release of the book — The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh — in the midst of the lok Sabha elections.
“Baru is an out of job, disgruntled turncoat who is spreading canards to sell his book and gain cheap publicity. Congress rejects this cheap fiction, penned for financial gains and sensationalism,” said Abhishek Manu Singhvi, party spokesperson.
BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman questioned Sonia if there was a deal on Siachen by her along with Gen JJ Singh, the former Army Chief. She further asked if the PM refused to take daily briefings from Intelligence agencies and it’s bearings on the country’s security situation.
“Did the PM forfeit his prerogative to decide on who would be in his CabinetIJ Was the ‘2G fame’ A Raja appointed at the behest of Sonia GandhiIJ Did the PM knowingly overlook corruption by his colleagues as alleged in the bookIJ Did 2G, CWG and Coalgate happen because of thisIJ” Sitharaman asked.
The BJP attacked the Congress saying that the book had proven true its charge of dual power centre involving Sonia and PM, where the former had the final word. “I have been saying from day one that the PM presides and madam decides. This has been proved now,” said BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu.
“I had heard about remote-controlled governments, but the remote was running the government. This was revealed only yesterday after the book was released,” Modi said, addressing an election rally in Banswara in Rajasthan, referring to the book by Sanjaya Baru released on Friday.
But Singhvi accused Baru of being an “opportunist,” whom he blamed of running away from responsibilities a few months before the 2009 general elections and returning to the party for a job, when Congress returned to power.
“When UPA regained victory, Baru returned to Congress for the job but was found incompetent and therefore rejected,” said Singhvi. Finance Minister P Chidambaram also rejected all suggestions of Sonia running UPA-II.
Chidambaram defended the allegations saying, “We are in a party democracy. There are decisions and decisions. Some decisions can be taken within the Government. Some have to be taken only after consultation with the the party. This is political party Government.”