Anand Sharma questions timing of Baru's book

Bhopal, April 14: Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma today questionned the "timing" of the book written by Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and his claims that PMO files were seen by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"Was Baru personally present at the meetings (held) between the PM and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi?.. He tries to give the impression that he was personally present at the meetings between the two leaders," Sharma told reporters here.

Baru's memoirs "The Accidental Prime Minister — The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh" has landed cat among pigeons, by painting a picture of PM as an honest and hardworking man "defanged" by a party keen to lay all the government's achievements at the door of Gandhi family.

"Baru had demitted office in 2008..It was strange that he has taken almost six years to tell us what was happening when he was the press adviser to the Prime Minister," Sharma said.

Baru, who had served as the media advisor to PM during UPA-I, claimed in the book that although Singh was the prime minister, Sonia Gandhi was the real boss and exerted an upper hand on the prime minister. The PMO has already dismissed the claims made by Baru in the book terming them as "totally baseless and mischievous".

"Baru has made claims about some files...As if he used to personally ferry them (files) between the residences of Singh and Sonia," Sharma said.

PTI