NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is given too much credit for two things, according to K Natwar Singh . One is the 1991 economic reforms, of which PV Narasimha Rao was the actual architect, he told ET. And the second is the civil nuclear deal with the US, said the former foreign minister.Close on the heels of a tell-all book by Manmohan Singh’s former press advisor Sanjaya Baru that's embarrassed the Congress party no end, comes news of an autobiographical tome being readied by another former insider, Natwar Singh, who was removed as foreign minister in 2005 over his alleged involvement in the oil-for-food scandal.Until then, Singh had been a trusted confidant of Sonia Gandhi. So what he has to say may be awaited with trepidation in some quarters. However, Singh is categorical that the book will come out only after the elections. And while he doesn't want to steal his own thunder ahead of publication, Singh offered some glimpses of what's likely to be in the book, One Life Is Not Enough, in an interview with ET.Natwar Singh was closely associated with the Nehru-Gandhi family since the days of Indira Gandhi , when he was in the Prime Minister’s Office during his career as an IFS officer. He entered politics in 1984 and became a minister in the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government.Later he became an advisor to Sonia Gandhi, a key member of the Congress Working Committee and part of the Manmohan Singh cabinet until his exit in 2005.However, Singh pointed out that he's been absolved of all charges in a court of law. He's not a member of any political party though his son is a BJP MLA. Singh’s autobiography will be scanned for revelations, insights and his bitterness over being ousted through a combination of events and machinations by his rivals within the Congress as well as the Opposition.“It is an honest and candid narration, with a touch of introspection, of the story of my life and experiences, both personal and political, spanning about 31 years in the Indian Foreign Service and the subsequent 21 years as a Congressman. I am now giving it the final touches,” said Singh, who is the author of nine other books on a wide range of topics.With regard to the prime minister, he said: “I have regard and respect for Dr Manmohan Singh... After PV Narasimha Rao selected Manmohan Singh as his finance minister, he was initially reluctant to launch economic reforms.Manmohan Singh told PV that since he (Singh) had just submitted the South-South Commission report on the lines of Nehruvian Socialism, it will be difficult for him to take a U-turn. I say it was PV’s determination and vision that made the launch of economic reforms possible and then Singh went along and implemented it.”As for the civil nuclear deal, he said: “I don’t agree with the narrative that Manmohan Singh was solely responsible for the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. I, as external affairs minister, was part of the whole negotiations and had seen Manmohan Singh become both nervous and noncommittal even as I was pushing for the deal. I am glad Condoleezza Rice, the then US secretary of state, wrote in her book that the negotiations wouldn't have progressed were it not for Natwar Singh.”Among the other topics dealt with are the political choreography behind the sacking of Sitaram Kesri as Congress president to bring Sonia Gandhi in as the new party boss, her learning curve as she negotiated power politics, braving revolt by Sharad Pawar and others, and the hostile NDA rule.Did Singh feel bitter and betrayed when Sonia Gandhi did not back him on the oil-forfood issue? The former foreign minister didn't offer a definitive “no” but said: ‘I have candidly dealt with that part (in the book).” Singh has always defined himself as a Nehruvian. “Nehru was a leader and statesman par excellence. Yet I have recorded that he was wrong in handling China and Kashmir,” he said.While an unapologetic admirer of Indira Gandhi, he was also conscious of her faults. “Indira Gandhi was a great leader on many counts, but in my book I have written she was wrong on the Emergency. But she was wronged on Operation Blue Star. I have personal knowledge that Indiraji had given instructions that not a single shot should be fired at the Golden Temple. But those who were in the Operation could not follow it for many reasons.”As for Rajiv Gandhi, Singh hails the former prime minister for his China policy and asserts that he was clean in the Bofors payoff scandal, but he “politically mismanaged dealing with the Opposition propaganda and also in dealing with the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.”