Attempts to build Rahul, destroy Manmohan finished UPA-II: Baru

Congress president Sonia Gandhi could have spelled doom for the UPA-II government by her attempts to "engineer" a transition of leadership from then prime minister Manmohan Singh to her son Rahul Gandhi, former media advisor to the PMO Sanjaya Baru said Saturday.

Baru who was in Goa to promote his book "The Accidental Prime Minister", also said that attempts by top Congress leaders to destroy the image of Manmohan Singh and simultaneously build that of Gandhi scion and party vice president Rahul, could have eventually led to the collapse of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-II.

"The problem with UPA-II was (Sonia) Gandhi was engineering a transition from Manmohan Singh to Rahul Gandhi," Baru said during a public interaction for the book promotion event held on the outskirts of the capital.

"The failure of UPA-II was because of confusion at the top. It was about how to build Rahul Gandhi's personality and at the same time destroy Manmohan Singh's," Baru added.

"The Congress succeeded in destroying Manmohan Singh's personality, but failed in building Rahul's," said Baru, who has in the past said several chapters in his book are dedicated to defending the former prime minister.