Former prime minister Manmohan Singh yesterday accused his successor Narendra Modi of spreading “falsehood and canards” in a desperate bid to win the Gujarat assembly elections and asked him to “apologise to the nation”.
In a hard-hitting statement, Singh denied allegations by Modi that he and others invited to a dinner at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s residence with Pakistani diplomats discussed the Gujarat election.
“I am deeply pained and anguished by the falsehood and canards being spread to score political points in a lost cause by none less than ... Modi,” the Congress leader said.
“Fearing imminent defeat in Gujarat, the desperation of the prime minister to hurl every abuse and latch on to every straw is palpable,” Singh said.
“Sadly and regrettably, Modi is setting a dangerous precedent by his insatiable desire to tarnish every Constitutional office including that of a former prime minister and army chief.”
The statement follows Modi’s allegations at an election rally in Gujarat that guests at Aiyar’s house, including Singh and former vice president Hamid Ansari, discussed the Gujarat election with Pakistan’s high commissioner to India and a former Pakistani foreign minister among others.
“I reject the innuendos and falsehoods as I did not discuss Gujarat elections with anyone else at the dinner hosted by Aiyar as alleged by Modi. Nor was the Gujarat issue raised by anyone else present at the dinner,” Singh said.
“The discussion was confined to India-Pakistan relations.”
Singh said the Congress needed “no sermons on ‘nationalism’ from a party and prime minister whose compromised track record on fighting terrorism is well known.
“Let me remind Modi that he had gone to Pakistan uninvited after the terrorist attacks in Udhampur and Gurdaspur. Let him also tell the country the reason for inviting the infamous ISI of Pakistan to our strategic air base in Pathankot to investigate a terror attack that emanated from Pakistan.”
Singh went on: “I sincerely hope that the prime minister will show the maturity and gravitas expected of the high office he holds instead of concentrating his energy solely on erroneously conceived brownie points.
“I sincerely hope that he will apologise to the nation for his ill thought transgression to restore the dignity of the office he occupies.”
The Congress also demanded that Modi apologise to former Ansari and Singh for insinuating that they were colluding with Pakistan to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat.
Perceiving a “clear defeat” in Gujarat, the prime minister was “frustrated and using foul language” to rouse sympathy for himself, Congress leader Anand Sharma said.
“Today the prime minister, in his frustration and perceiving a clear defeat, wants to divert the attention of people. PM should take his words back and to maintain the dignity of his post, should apologise,” Sharma said.
“If he has any such information, then it’s a very serious matter... The country will not accept wrong means being employed by the ruling party to win the elections. We have full faith that the Gujarat electorate is intelligent and mature enough to understand the tactics behind yesterday’s address (by Modi) and will answer them in the second phase (of elections).”
Sharma said nothing could be more absurd than what the prime minister had said on Sunday.
“It is expected of the prime minister to be dignified in his discourse, to always remember that he holds a high office and he should not level accusations, cast aspersions on those who have held high constitutional offices and have served India with dedication and commitment.”
Sharma said Modi’s insinuations against the former vice president and former prime minister of doing something improper is “highly irresponsible, improper and condemnable.”
“The prime minister must remember that mere attending a social function in which high dignitaries were present... It was not a secret meeting, in which former chief of the Indian army, India’s former high commissioner to Pakistan, eminent journalists, they all were present.
“The desperation of the prime minister to hurl every abuse and latch on to every straw is palpable”
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh
