NEW DELHI: It’s well-known that Manmohan Singh put his job on the line for the passage of the nuclear deal during UPA-I. Consequently, many have wondered why the Prime Minister did not take a similar hard stance when UPA-II was rocked by corruption scandals.On Thursday, Sanjaya Baru , writer of the best-selling book, The Accidental Prime Minister, sought to explain why. “For Dr Singh, the nuclear deal was a combination of India’s honour and about personal legacy. But on the issue of corruption, his personal reputation was not at stake. Besides, if he had quit, the government would have fallen,” he said.Baru, who was Singh’s media advisor between 2004-08, was in conversation with well-known TV journalist Barkha Dutt.In reply to another question, Baru said the recent problems for UPA-II and the Congress were not about a lack of communication but an absence of credibility. “In UPA-I, the government had credibility. In UPA-II, it had lost credibility,” he said.Baru also insisted that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had offered the post of Prime Minister to Singh not as “largesse” but due to “political compulsion.”“Earlier, Narasimha Rao too had become Prime Minister with her support but he later took over the party. This time she wanted someone whom she could trust. She did not want another politician to take over the party. Choosing Manmohan Singh wasn’t an act of generosity but a political choice,” Baru said.The former advisor to Singh said contrary to what had appeared in the media, he had never written about PMO files being shown to Sonia Gandhi. He said the Congress president was only “briefed on policy matters”. “It is an empty debate going on,” he said.Baru said Manmohan Singh was not too comfortable with the National Advisory Council “since the PM was not the chairperson” but accepted it as a “necessity”.Over the years, Singh struck a lot of unusual friendships with a range of politicians such as Sharad Pawar, Amar Singh, Somnath Chatttejee and Subramanian Swamy, who has been sharply critical of the Gandhi family.“It was the bonding of two economists. Dr Singh had enormous respect for Mr Swamy’s knowledge of China.”Baru also said, “I hope Dr Singh writes his autobiography some day.”