The institution of Prime Minister had weakened during this period, said Baru.
About India Inc not being mentioned in his book except for the one line reference to Ratan Tata, Baru said India Inc did not loom large in UPA I as the economy was doing well. Baru said another reason why businessmen come to the Prime Minister is to lobby. "I think it involved others," he said.
An episode he did not mention in his book he said was when Laxmi Mittal was in the process of taking over the French company Arcelor, Singh had stepped forward and argued for Mittal to the French president. "This was 2007. No questions were raised."
Baru said there were two reasons why Singh threatened to resign over the nuclear deal — one the agreement was approved by the Union Cabinet and the US had been informed that India was willing to sign it.
Second, Singh had come around to the view that it was the only initiative that was identified with him.
