New Delhi: Speaking at the convention, organised by NSUI, the students’ wing of the Congress, Dr Manmohan Singh said dissent was being suppressed. The Congress, he said, has tried hard to ensure that India flourishes as an open pluralistic, liberal and secular democracy proud of its composite heritage. “This very idea of India is now under systematic assault. We must understand how this assault is being mounted and then come up with our response,” he said.
Dr Singh also raised the issue of the government’s performance on the economic front, saying even the government’s own people felt the recovery was “fragile”.
“In the last one year the BJP government has to manufacture and modify some statistical data to show that this last one year has not been that bad for the economy. But their people are of the view that the recovery that they talk about in the last one year is a very fragile recovery,” Dr Singh said.
Read: Manmohan Singh ambushes Narendra Modi
He said the chief economic adviser to finance minister and the Reserve Bank governor have both been of the view that the “recovery is fragile”, adding, “And indeed, if you look at the harsh reality, you will find all is not well with the state of our economy under the BJP dispensation.” Claiming that the UPA’s policies led to profound social transformation and unprecedented economic growth, he said that during its government India had become the second fastest-growing economy, after China. “Many of our programmes are now being repackaged and marketed as initiatives of the BJP government. What the BJP had opposed when we were in power is now being sold as its contribution,” he said.
In this regard he referred to the Modi government’s Make in India programme and said it was a “carbon copy” of the new manufacturing policy of the UPA government. “It does not surprise us, it is a compliment if the BJP takes up the constructive work done by the UPA,” he said. The BJP leadership, he said, had constantly focused on calling the UPA corrupt and levelling the charge of policy paralysis, both of which were far from reality. “We have nothing but to be proud of our achievements,” Dr Singh said.
Emphasising that the Congress and its leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were committed to eradication of poverty and bringing in a new India, Dr Singh asked the NSUI workers to give correct information to people about what was wrong with BJP government.
Story so far
- Mr Baijal, who was appointed head of the telecom watchdog by the NDA government in 2003, said the 2G scam trail began under UPA telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran’s regime.
- He claimed this in his book, Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power and Private Enterprise - A Practitioner’s Diary
- CBI wanted Mr Baijal to “implicate” Arun Shourie and Ratan Tata in the case, he claims
- Mr Maran threatened Baijal with “serious consequences” if he gave recommendations on Unified Licences that would have replaced the old system of giving out permits on first-come-first-serve basis
- Maran, who was telecom minister in UPA-1 from May 2004 to 2007, threatened Baijal with “serious consequences” if he gave recommendations on Unified Licences that would have replaced the old system of giving out permits on first-come-first-serve basis.
Reactions: Rubbishing all what he claimed in his book, Congress communication department in-charge Randeep Surjewala said, “It is all imaginary, false and baseless”. He alleged that Mr Baijal had written this to “shield” himself from the CBI as he himself was an accused in the scam.
