NEW DELHI:Breaking his silence on the fresh allegations doing the rounds in connection with the 2G scam, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday asserted that he had “never used” public office to “enrich” himself, his family or friends.
“As far as I am concerned, I can say in all humility that I have not any public office to make myself, my family or my friends richer. Yet, the BJP Government is constantly harping on the theme of corruption, just because it wants to deflect the attention of the people to non-issues,” he said while speaking at the national convention of National Students Union of India.
Manmohan was responding to former chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Pradip Baijal’s allegations that the former Prime Minister had warned him of harm if he did not cooperate in 2G telecom licences.
Though he was constantly under pressure, Manmohan hardly responded to the charges levelled against him. But on Wednesday, he attacked Narendra Modi Government on various issues and rubbished the allegations of policy paralysis during the UPA regime.
“These are all totally untrue. When we left office in 2014, in the last 10 years until then our economy had grown at an average annual rate of 8.5 per cent. This is an all- time record. When we left office, we were the second fastest growing economy in the world, after China,” the former PM said.
According to the former PM,institutions of democracy were under threat and the edifice of the welfare state was being dismantled. Questioning the BJP-NDA Government’s claims on economic development, he said rural India was under acute distress and the economic recovery was fragile.
“Institutions of democracy are under threat. The entire edifice of the welfare state is now being dismantled in the guise of promoting faster economic growth, whereas they are two sides of the same coin,” he noted.
Manmohan pointed out that many of the UPA schemes were now being repackaged and marketed as the new initiatives of the BJP Government.
“Look at the ‘Make in India’ initiative. What is this ‘Make in India’? This is a carbon copy of the programme that our government had chalked out as the New Manufacturing Policy, under which we had pledged that we will raise the share of manufacturing to 25 per cent of our GDP. In all these areas, the UPA said it will do better than ever before and it did. We had revitalised higher, lower and primary education and expanded educational facilities for the masses. We have nothing but to be proud of our achievements,” the former Prime Minister said .
Breaks Silence
■ Manmohan attacked Modi Govt on various issues and rubbished the charges of policy paralysis during UPA regime
■ Says ‘Make in India’ initiative is carbon copy of UPA’s ‘New Manufacturing Policy’
■ ‘When we left office in 2014, in the last 10 years until then our economy had grown at an average annual rate of 8.5 pc. This is an all-time record’