Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said ex-president Pranab Mukherjee had every reason to have grievances at being ignored for the post of prime minister despite being more qualified but knew "I had no choice" in the matter, and that smoothened their relationship.

Singh's comments at the launch of Mukherjee's book –The Coalition Years – in the presence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul Gandhi left the audience in splits.