Manmohan Singh ambushes Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the Modi government was “harping” on corruption to divert people’s attention to non-issues.

In an uncharacteristically hard-hitting speech at a convention here, he alleged that “institutions of democracy were under threat” and that “the entire edifice of the welfare state is being dismantled in the guise of promoting faster economic growth”.

He said the past was continually being rewritten to promote a “highly biased and communal view” and that dissent was being suppressed. Dr Singh also questioned the BJP government’s claims on economic development, saying rural India was in acute distress and economic recovery 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. The past is continually being rewritten to promote a highly biased and communal view,” he said.