PMO shields Manmohan Singh, says GDP data shows he isn’t ‘weak, silent'

New Delhi: The Prime Minister’s Office, the butt of ridicule for non-performance and “spinelessness”, on Friday adopted an aggressive stance with the government in its last days.

Manmohan Singh’s communications adviser Pankaj Pachauri claimed that the latest economic data showed “unprecedented growth and all-round development” in Dr Singh’s two terms as PM, arguing that this improvement in people’s lives would not have been possible had Dr Singh been “weak”. GDP and per capita income had grown by three times in the past decade, he claimed.

Countering the Prime Minister’s former media adviser Sanjaya Baru’s damaging claims, Mr Pachauri insisted that Dr Singh was not a “silent PM”, saying that on average he spoke “after every three days”. But people did not know enough about these achievements as the media has “different priorities”, he added.

Read: Huge violation of trust, says Manmohan Singh’s daughter on Sanjaya Baru’s book claims

Earlier, stepping up its attack on Sanjaya Baru's book brought out in the midst of Lok Sabha elections, the Congresson had dubbed it as "mother of all plants" and asserted that Mr Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi have the "best of relations".

"The political relationship between the PM and the Congress President is an inspiring example of the great democratic tradition of selfless cooperation of political leaders in the best interests of our nation, established and fostered in the Congress party by Mahatma Gandhi," it said.

The party has repeatedly questioned the timing of the release of Mr Baru's book 'Accidental Prime Minister - The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh' and former coal secretary PC Parakh's book 'Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and Other Truths'.

Read: Ministers reversed PM’s coal orders, says P.C. Parakh

The Congress statement came close on the heels of BJP' PM candidate Narendra Modi latching on to the book to mock at Dr Singh and targeting Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, saying they wielded the real power instead of the PM.

"He was not at fault and was unnecessarily criticised. All the fault lies with the mother and son (Sonia and Rahul)," Mr Modi said addressing a rally at Bhagalpur in Bihar.