Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal has said the PM did not understand coalition politics
At a time two books have described Manmohan Singh as a Prime Minister who failed to provide strong leadership and surrendered to his Congress party and its allies, one of his ministers has made another damning assessment.
Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal today appeared to dismiss the Prime Minister as a campaigner for the Congress in the national election, saying that he was "never a politician" and was paying for not grasping the twists of coalition politics.
"He was never a political person. Neither did he participate in active politics, he suddenly became prime minister and he did good work during (his first term). During UPA II - you know it was an alliance government. To run an alliance government is tough. Since he has not been in politics - so he is paying for it," Mr Jaiswal told NDTV, when asked why the prime minister was not visible in the Congress' campaign even though the party was showcasing the government's achievements.
"He was unaware of what alliance partners were doing. He used to understand the political manoeuvres of modern politics, but he did not try to counter those moves. It was not his nature."
Mr Jaiswal's Coal Ministry was at the centre of one the biggest scams to hit the Prime Minister's 10-year tenure.
PC Parakh, former Coal Secretary, has said in his memoirs that the PM failed to take on vested interests which allowed the illegal allocation of coal blocks at a massive loss to the government.
Another book by Sanjaya Baru, a former media adviser, suggests that the PM was an ineffective leader whose authority was repeatedly undermined by Sonia Gandhi, who called the shots.
The books have left the Congress red-faced in the middle of a national election that many believe it can't win. Opinion polls say voters will punish the party for its failure to check corruption and price rise.