Modi is the first PM to stoop so low in criticizing Opposition: Manmohan Singh

Bengaluru, May 7: Dr Manmohan Singh, the former prime minister of India, on Monday broke his silence and took incumbent PM Narendra Modi for shamelessly resorting to personal attacks and stooping so low in criticising opposition leaders during election rallies.

Addressing a press conference here, the acclaimed economist said: "No Prime Minister in our country has used the Office of the Prime Minister to say things about his opponent that Mr Modi has been doing day in and day out. It doesn't behove a Prime Minister to stoop so low and it is not good for the country as well."

Singh raked Modi over the coals for the "two major avoidable blunders" of demonetisation and the "hasty implementation" of the Goods and Services Tax.

"Losses the economy suffered due to these blunders have severely hurt our micro small and medium enterprise sector and have resulted in loss of tens of thousands of jobs," said the former PM, from the Congress-led UPA regime.

Singh said the public is losing trust in Modi's governance. "The economic management of Modi government is slowly eroding the trust of the general public in the banking system. Recent incidents which resulted in shortage of cash in many states were preventable," said Singh, referring to a sudden cash crunch a couple of weeks ago in various parts of the country, which was blamed on poor preparation for the financial year's end.

Singh also talked about absconding diamond merchant Nirav Modi who cheated the public Punjab National Bank of allegedly more than Rs 11,000 crore between 2011 and 2017. The former PM also referred to the fact that Nirav was seen not long ago with PM Modi at an international event abroad.

"As far as Nirav Modi is concerned, it was obvious that in 2015-16, something is going around with the affairs of Modi. Yet the Modi government didn't do anything. If blame has to be cast, it has to be on the govt of mandate. In fact, the PM was in Davos in the company of Nirav Modi & only a few days later he ran away from the country. That itself is the reflection of sad state of affairs in this wonderland of Modi government," said Singh.