Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said there is a crisis of confidence in the government and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must give “every Indian” the confidence that he cares for people’s
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said there is a crisis of confidence in the government and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must give “every Indian” the confidence that he cares for people’s well-being.
Mr Singh was critical of the prime minister for not speaking on issues like beef or communal riots in Muzaffarnagar and elsewhere.
Stating that “People don’t believe the government”, the former prime minister said, “When they (apparently industrialists) go and call on the ministers, they say the right things, but when they come out, all of them say that nothing much has changed ... There is today a crisis of confidence in the government.”
Mr Singh said beef controversy and issues like intolerance were problems.
“All these are problems. The public in our country expects the prime minister to take the lead in managing public opinion. But he (Modi) has never spoken; whether it is on the beef problem or whether it is what happened in Muzaffarnagar or elsewhere, he has kept quiet.”
“I don’t know. I cannot read his mind. But he is the prime minister of all the people of India and he must give every Indian the confidence that in him we have a prime minister who cares for our well-being,” he told India Today.
Reacting to his remarks, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the criticism was “misplaced,” while addi-ng that the Modi government had launched a host of schemes like Mudra and Jan Dhan besides other welfare measures for the downtrodden and weaker sections of society.
“Singh is very welcome. He advised the prime minister to be PM for all India and I will like to say that Modi’s campaign was ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ (with all, development for all) and he is very clearly fulfilling this.”
Asked about the government’s performance so far, Mr Singh there is a growing view that the BJP is not able to deliver in areas in which it had made huge promises.
“He said he was in Kabul when he spoke to Nawaz Sharif, who invited him to come. But that is no way of planning or taking a view on such a sensitive relationship, especially one between India and Pakistan.”
Asked about the government’s performance so far, the former prime minister there is a growing view that the BJP is not able to deliver in areas in which it had made huge promises.
Replying to questions, ,Mr Singh said when he talked to the PM once or twice, he had told him that Mr Modi had to reach out to the Opposition much more effectively than has been the case.
“There has been no serious discussion with the Congress, whether it is on foreign policy or domestic policy and even on the GST.”
He said he told the prime minister if he wants to improve the relations with the Congress it was much more essential than even before to establish contact with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
“I told him that this is not a task on which I can deliver. They are the two most important leaders of our party, and until the government establishes some rapport with Soniaji and Rahul, the Congress party cannot be taken for granted. You cannot have a situation, where you foist cases like National Herald and then expect...”
When told that in Parliament it was increasingly clear that the treasury and Opposition benches were hardly talking to each other, Mr Singh said, “That is not good for democracy, for the country. There is unwanted bitterness between the two sides. It does not have to be that way.”
Asked why he thinks there was bitterness, he said, “Because the ruling party doesn’t feel that it needs the Congress in managing the country.”
To a question on scams and scandals in the last couple of years during his government, and whether he felt sad that his last years were shrouded by them, he said he really felt sad that the BJP disrupted Parliament and the government never had the opportunity to put its view on what really happened.
Asked if he was bitter about that, Singh said “I am not bitter about anything but it hurts me. I had not entered politics to make money for myself, my family or friends. And I felt very sad and hurt when the BJP members would walk into the well of the House and say ‘pradhan mantri chor hai’. That really hurt me.”
