Manmohan says never used public office to enrich himself, BJP hits back
New Delhi/Surat, May 27 (IANS) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday denied having ever used public office to enrich himself or his family, prompting BJP president Amit Shah to mount a fresh attack on him over the 2G allocation controversy.
The day also saw Manmohan Singh going to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 7 Race Course residence for a meeting that caused some surprise in political circles as it happened just after a few hours of his strong attack on the government.
Manmohan Singh's office later said the meeting took place on the invitation of Modi and the two leaders discussed the country's economic situation and foreign policy issues.
Manmohan Singh, who has faced questions from the Bharatiya Janata Party following allegations by former TRAI chairman Pradip Baijal relating to the 2G allocations, told a National Students Union of India (NSUI) convention here that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had been fighting corruption.
Baijal has alleged that Manmohan Singh had warned him of harm if he did not cooperate on 2G telecom licences.
He also said Manmohan Singh asked him to cooperate with then communications minister Dayanidhi Maran as non-cooperation could compromise the UPA government.
Baijal, who has written a book, "The Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power and Private Enterprise - A Practitioners Diary", also alleged that Maran had warned him of "serious consequences" if he gave unified licensing recommendations.
Attacking the BJP, Manmohan Singh said the ruling party continues to harp on the theme of corruption as it wants to divert the attention of the people to non-issues.
"As far as I am concerned, I can say in all humility that I have not used my public office to enrich myself, to enrich my family or to enrich my friends," he said.
In his hard-hitting speech at the NSUI convention, Manmohan Singh also accused the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance of rewriting the past "to promote a highly biased and communal view".
The former prime minister said the institutions of democracy were under threat and the entire edifice of the welfare state was being dismantled in the guise of promoting faster economic growth.
"Dissent is being suppressed. The very idea of India is under systematic assault. We must understand how this assault is being mounted and then come up with our responses," he said.
Manmohan Singh said there was new life in the Congress after the reverses in elections last year and the youth had to play a key role in sustaining the momentum by reaching out to people with the work done by the UPA government and the failures of the Modi government.
Referring to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh said he has been very active and vocal in parliament and outside.
He, however, said the party has not been able to take full advantage of the new opportunities provided by technology.
"Our political opponents appear to have left us behind in this area. We have much catching up to do and no time to lose," he said.
"I want to assure you that we have been fighting corruption and will continue to fight corruption and there will be no compromise on corruption," he said.
Rejecting allegations of policy paralysis as "totally untrue", Manmohan Singh said the UPA had ensured a high average GDP growth during its 10 years in office.
Meanwhile, hitting back at Manmohan Singh at a press conference in Surat, BJP president Amit Shah said his responsibility was not only to be personally incorruptible but to ensure that there was no corruption in his government.
"The issue does not end at not doing corruption yourself," Shah said, while alleging there were "scams of Rs.12 lakh crore" while Manmohan Singh was prime minister.
The BJP president said the Congress had said there was "zero-loss" in the spectrum allocation despite a CAG report pointing to the huge loss.
The auction of airwaves during the NDA government led to over Rs.100,000 crore coming to the exchequer and the allocation of coal blocks would lead to over Rs.200,000 crore enriching the exchequer, he said.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Manmohan Singh had chosen to "break his silence" when things had already been proved.