NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack, former Indian Prime Minister and senior Congress leader, Manmohan Singh has said that his successor Narendra Modi has debased the dignity of public discourse and the office of the Prime Minister through his divisive and hateful speeches during the poll campaign.
In a letter to voters in Punjab ahead of the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1 (Saturday), Manmohan Singh asserted that only the Congress can ensure growth-oriented progressive future where democracy and the Constitution will be safeguarded.
He also criticized the BJP government’s “ill-conceived” Agniveer scheme, which he said undermines the value of patriotism, bravery, and service in the armed forces.
“The BJP thinks that the value of patriotism, bravery, and service is only four years. This shows their fake nationalism,” he said.
Singh’s attack on Modi was unsparing, as he said, “I have been keenly following the political discourse during this election campaign. Modi ji has indulged in the most vicious form of hate speeches, which are purely divisive in nature. Modi is the first prime minister to lower the dignity of public discourse, and thereby the gravity of the office of the prime minister”. “No prime minister in the past has uttered such hateful, unparliamentary, and coarse terms, meant to target either a specific section of society or the opposition”, he added.
Singh also denied Modi’s accusation that he had said Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources. “I have never in my life singled out one community from the other. That is the sole copyright of the BJP,” he said.
Singh’s letter concluded with an appeal to voters to reject Modi’s “narrative of dehumanization” and “forces of discord” and instead choose a government that will uphold democracy, the Constitution, and the values of inclusivity and progress.”
