Headlines
Manmohan says never used public office to enrich himself, BJP hits back
New Delhi/Surat, May 27
Former prime minister
Manmohan Singh on Wednesday denied having ever used public office to
enrich himself or his family, prompting BJP president Amit Shah to mount
a fresh attack on him over the 2G allocation controversy.
The
day also saw Manmohan Singh going to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 7
Race Course residence for a meeting that caused some surprise in
political circles as it happened just after a few hours of his strong
attack on the government.
Manmohan Singh's office later said the
meeting took place on the invitation of Modi and the two leaders
discussed the country's economic situation and foreign policy issues.
Manmohan
Singh, who has faced questions from the Bharatiya Janata Party
following allegations by former TRAI chairman Pradip Baijal relating to
the 2G allocations, told a National Students Union of India (NSUI)
convention here that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government had been fighting corruption.
Baijal has alleged that Manmohan Singh had warned him of harm if he did not cooperate on 2G telecom licences.
He
also said Manmohan Singh asked him to cooperate with then
communications minister Dayanidhi Maran as non-cooperation could
compromise the UPA government.
Baijal, who has written a book,
"The Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power and Private Enterprise -
A Practitioners Diary", also alleged that Maran had warned him of
"serious consequences" if he gave unified licensing recommendations.
Attacking
the BJP, Manmohan Singh said the ruling party continues to harp on the
theme of corruption as it wants to divert the attention of the people to
non-issues.
"As far as I am concerned, I can say in all humility
that I have not used my public office to enrich myself, to enrich my
family or to enrich my friends," he said.
In his hard-hitting
speech at the NSUI convention, Manmohan Singh also accused the BJP-led
National Democratic Alliance of rewriting the past "to promote a highly
biased and communal view".
The former prime minister said the
institutions of democracy were under threat and the entire edifice of
the welfare state was being dismantled in the guise of promoting faster
economic growth.
"Dissent is being suppressed. The very idea of
India is under systematic assault. We must understand how this assault
is being mounted and then come up with our responses," he said.
Manmohan
Singh said there was new life in the Congress after the reverses in
elections last year and the youth had to play a key role in sustaining
the momentum by reaching out to people with the work done by the UPA
government and the failures of the Modi government.
Referring to
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh said he has been
very active and vocal in parliament and outside.
He, however, said the party has not been able to take full advantage of the new opportunities provided by technology.
"Our
political opponents appear to have left us behind in this area. We have
much catching up to do and no time to lose," he said.
"I want to
assure you that we have been fighting corruption and will continue to
fight corruption and there will be no compromise on corruption," he
said.
Rejecting allegations of policy paralysis as "totally
untrue", Manmohan Singh said the UPA had ensured a high average GDP
growth during its 10 years in office.
Meanwhile, hitting back at
Manmohan Singh at a press conference in Surat, BJP president Amit Shah
said his responsibility was not only to be personally incorruptible but
to ensure that there was no corruption in his government.
"The
issue does not end at not doing corruption yourself," Shah said, while
alleging there were "scams of Rs.12 lakh crore" while Manmohan Singh was
prime minister.
The BJP president said the Congress had said
there was "zero-loss" in the spectrum allocation despite a CAG report
pointing to the huge loss.
The auction of airwaves during the NDA
government led to over Rs.100,000 crore coming to the exchequer and the
allocation of coal blocks would lead to over Rs.200,000 crore enriching
the exchequer, he said.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Manmohan Singh had chosen to "break his silence" when things had already been proved.