When history is written, it'll be kinder to me

In 2012, the then prime minister Manmohan Singh underwent operations for multiple coronary bypasses and never quite recovered physically as it slowed him down and this showed up in governance, veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar says in his latest book.

He says that Pranab Mukherjee should have been given the reins of the UPA-II govt and Singh elevated to President when the office of Rashtrapati presented an opening in 2012.

Aiyar's insight into the period post 2012 comes into the spotlight as Singh, who was the country's prime minister from 2004-14, passed away at AIIMS here.

Aiyar states in the book that if this step had been taken, the UPA would not have gone into a "paralysis of governance".

He says the decision to retain Singh as the prime minister and shift Mukherjee to the Rashtrapati Bhawan "doomed" any prospects the Congress might have had to form UPA-III.

Aiyar puts forward these ideas in his forthcoming book "A Maverick in Politics" published by Juggernaut.

In the book, Aiyar talks about his early days in politics, navigating through the Narasimha Rao years, his time as a minister in UPA I, his Rajya Sabha term and then his "decline...fade out...fall".

"In 2012, the prime minister (Manmohan Singh) underwent operations for multiple coronary bypasses. He never quite recovered physically. It slowed him down and this showed up in governance.