Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday claimed that corruption rose to “unimaginable proportions” during the tenure of the Narendra Modi-led government. In an interview with PTI, Singh alleged that demonetisation was perhaps the biggest scam in Independent India.
The former prime minister also asserted that there was no “Modi wave” during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and that people are determined to vote out the government. “A government which does not believe in inclusive growth and is only worried about its political existence at the altar of disharmony should be immediately shown the exit door,” he said.
Singh said the Modi government’s Pakistan policy was slipshod, and based on a series of flip-flops. “Let’s not forget that Narendra Modi’s slipshod policy on Pakistan has been marred by a series of flip-flops: from going to Pakistan uninvited to inviting the rogue Inter-Services Intelligence to investigate the Pathankot Air Base terror attack,” he said. “Does it not speak volumes about the strategic failures of the Modi government on the national security front?”
The Congress leader said terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have increased by 176% in the last five years, and ceasefire violations by Pakistan 1,000 times. “A lie spoken a hundred times does not become the truth,” he said about Modi’s nationalistic pitch during the poll campaign.
Singh claimed division and hate have become synonymous with the BJP, which thrives on creating fissures in society. He said the BJP keeps looking for new narratives every day because its five years in power have been a failure.
“Five years of Modi government is a sad story of governance and accountability failure,” Singh alleged. He said that instead of Modi’s promised “acche din”, the five years of his rule have been the “most traumatic and devastating for India’s youth, farmers, traders, businesses and every democratic institution”. “There is a sense of deep despair and disillusionment amongst the masses,” the Congress leader claimed.
He also disagreed that the presidential form of government will be good for India. “Representation in India is very important,” Singh said. “A single man can neither represent all the desires of 130 crore people of India and can also not solve the variety of problems faced by them.”
Four out of the seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections have been completed. Results for all seven phases will be declared on May 23.
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