New Delhi: Hitting back at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his criticism of the Modi government, BJP today said when he was at the helm “his silence and inability to act against corruption hurt India’s image internationally and put citizens’ trust in the government at an all-time low”.
Rejecting Singh’s contention that there is a crisis of confidence in the government, the party said in a statement that ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas (with all, development for all) is the government’s guiding mantra.
Taking a dig at Singh, BJP said he had conveniently forgotten that as prime minister he “batted only for one family”.
“We want to give credit to Manmohan Singh where it is due.
He rightly identifies a lot of issues Indian economy is facing. These problems are his gift to the nation. He himself admits that when they were in power, people complained of tax terrorism, can he tell us if he addressed this problem?
“But we believe in solutions and not problems, and are solving all legacy problems left by UPA. Manmohan Singh says sorry for the loss of UPA in 2014. Why is he still acting as an apologist for the Gandhi family,” the BJP asked.
The party also attacked Singh for his criticism of the prime minister’s Pakistan policy.
“Manmohan Singh needs to be reminded of Sharm Al Sheikh incident where he shamed the nation. He should also remember the ‘Dehaati Aurat’ incident when Narendra Modi came to his defence when no one from his party or Gandhi family did,” it said.
Taking a jibe at Singh, who was criticised by some during his tenure for not speaking out on important issues, BJP said, “We are absolutely delighted with the fact that he has finally found his voice in the Modi regime. We welcome him to a free India where everyone can speak what he thinks unlike the India when even he as the PM was denied his free speech.