The movie ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ has become a topic of discussion after the release of its trailer on Thursday. The movie is based on Sanjaya Baru’s book- The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh.
The author of the book is no ordinary person. He was media advisor and the chief spokesperson from May 2004 until August 2008 to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. According to the One India report, Singh offered him the job with the words, ‘Sitting here, I know I will be isolated from the outside world. I want you to be my eyes and ears. Tell me what you think I should know, without fear or favour.’ Former PM knew Baru before he appointed him as his advisor. Baru’s father B. P. R. Vithal was Finance and Planning Secretary during Dr.Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Secretary of Finance in the Government of India.
Sanjaya Baru is also a well know, political commentator, policy analyst, and a famous author. Apart from ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’, he has authored 1991: How P. V. Narasimha Rao Made History, The Bombay Plan: Blueprint for Economic Resurgence, and also edited some books.
Sanjaya Baru has also served as an associate editor at India’s leading newspaper houses- The Economic Times and The Times of India- and then served as chief editor at Business Standard. He has also served as Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) until his resignation in the month of April this year.
Sanjaya Baru attracted maximum media and public attention for his most famous work- The Accidental Prime Minister- which was released during the last Lok Sabha elections. The book states that Dr. Singh had been “defanged” by Congress in his second term with Sonia Gandhi taking decisions on major policy decisions, key appointments to the Cabinet and to the PMO as well. Basically, his book confirms what the whole nation was already aware of. PM Manmohan Singh was in the office but never in power.
The book goes on to give birth to curiosity, controversy, and now a movie as well. Many people appreciated Baru’s book and many criticized it too. Upinder Singh, daughter of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, lambasted the former media adviser Sanjaya Baru’s observations in his book. She called the observations “nothing but a stab in the back…a huge betrayal of trust’’ and a “mischievous, unethical’’ exercise. She also questioned the timing of the release of the book.
The PMO released a statement the day Sanjaya Baru’s book was released. The statement dismissing the veracity of the memoir 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.” According to a Sunday Guardian report, when senior Indian editors met Dr. Singh in October and mentioned Baru’s allegations, Singh replied: “Do not believe all he is saying.” The Congress party termed the book as “cheap fiction”, and Sanjaya Baru was dubbed as “an out of job, disgruntled turncoat”.
In an interview with the Indian Express, Baru responded to charges leveled by the PMO by saying, “All I can say is that I am amused. It is a foolish statement because most of the book is positive (about the PM). And I do not want you to make it a them-versus-me issue. I left the PMO five years ago, and what I have written is memoirs of UPA 1.”
Sanjay Baru’s book was bound to generate controversy as it was a book of first of its kind. His predecessors did not author any book regarding the PMO and about how the things work within it. People of India became aware of the things to some extent which take place inside the PMO through his book. His book once again is all set to become the talk of the town as the movie– The Accidental Prime Minister- is set to hit theatres shortly.
