BJP has messed up economy, says Manmohan Singh

New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the NDA government, accusing it of having “messed up” the economy and mismanaging the dispute in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking at the party plenary, the former Prime Minister said: “The BJP government made tall promises. Modi himself said that his government will double farmers’ incomes. For that, a growth rate of 12 per cent per annum is necessary, which is unthinkable in the current scenario.” 

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proclivity for “jumlebaazi” (empty rhetoric), Dr Singh charged that the work done by this government falls short of the claims made by its leaders.

Attacking the government on the economy, Dr Singh said: “The BJP claimed in 2014 that if it came to power it would provide two crore jobs. But we have not seen even two lakh jobs.” He also added that the “ill-thought and ill-conceived” demonetisation plan and “hastily put forward” legislation on GST had destroyed many jobs and created problems for the small and medium scale and the informal sector, both in terms of production and providing jobs.

Dr Singh spoke on many issues, and was accorded a standing ovation by the party leaders. 

He further added: “The Modi government has mismanaged Jammu and Kashmir like never before, the atmosphere is deteriorating day in and day out, that is obvious from the fact that our borders are insecure.” Noting the cut in the defence budget, Dr Singh said: “The defence expenditure of our country is no more than 1.6 per cent of our GDP. This is far too inadequate to meet the challenges of our security apparatus and our needs.”