Aiyar claimed several crises, particularly Anna Hazare's 'India Against Corruption' movement, “were either not handled effectively or not handled at all”

Pranab Mukherjee should have been given the reins of the UPA-II Government and Manmohan Singh elevated to President when the office of Rashtrapati presented an opening in 2012, veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar says in his latest book.

Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, in his latest book, argues that Pranab Mukherjee should have been made Prime Minister in 2012 instead of Manmohan Singh, who was then recovering from health issues.

The 83-year-old Aiyar states in the book - 'A Maverick in Politics' - that the UPA would not have gone into a "paralysis of governance" if Pranab Mukherjee was made the Prime Minister and Manmohan Singh would have been elevated to President when the office of Rashtrapati presented an opening in 2012.

Mani Shankar Aiyar argued that Congress's decision to retain Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister despite his declining health led to governance paralysis and ultimately doomed the party's chances of forming UPA-III.

Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar reflects on his political journey, claiming his career was "made and unmade" by the Gandhi family.

Mani Shankar Aiyar claimed that if Pranab Mukherjee was made PM in 2012, the Congress would have lost the 2014 LS polls, but not by a massive margin

Mani Shankar Aiyar claimed that the Gandhis played a part in his elevation and his subsequent marginalisation within the grand-old party.