Were you a remote-controlled PM: BJP on Manmohan Singh

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Wednesday asked if former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a remote-controlled Prime Minster as India was financially weak during his two subsequent terms despite he being a reputed economist.

Addressing a press conference here, Vijayvargiya said, "When former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was first elected, he was a reputed economist, everyone expected India to become financially stable and grow in terms of the economy. But maybe he was unable to do as he wanted."

"When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath on May 26, 2014, India was among the fragile five economies of the world. So I want to ask him (Manmohan), why India slipped down to such lows during his 10-year term when he was leading the country as an economist from the Prime Minister's office?" Vijayvargiya added.

He further noted that the country's economic situation was radically different during former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure and after Prime Minister Modi took some "harsh measures which may have inconvenienced some," India has become the sixth largest economy in the world.

"From fragile five to sixth largest in the world in just four-and-half years. The credit goes to our Prime Minister for his decisions, and the strong political willpower he has displayed," the BJP national general secretary said.

He further highlighted the stark contrast in the inflation rates in the country during the UPA government and the NDA government.

"During Manmohan ji's term, the inflation was nearly 10 per cent, while it is 3.6 per cent today. The middle-class deposits their savings in the banks and earn from the interest the bank pays, but due to the inflation of those days, the valuation of the interest also falls. I'm proud to say that Modi ji has made the economy strong and solved the inflation problem," Vijayvargiya said.

The BJP leader then stated that investment in the country's infrastructure and public welfare projects have seen a sharp rise during the current government's rule, citing the Ujjwala Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana to substantiate his claim. Vijayvargia said that Prime Minister Modi's decisions like demonitisation and the GST contributed a lot towards the growth of the economy.

"When the demonitisation was implemented, Manmohan ji said that India's economic growth will be lower than 2 per cent. At that time, our Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ji had said that for the first three months, our economic growth may slow down, but our GDP is almost 8.2 per cent today. India's GDP has grown faster than any other nation," Vijayvargiya said.

"Were you (Manmohan) a remote-controlled Prime Minister that you couldn't take such decisions? Were you under someone's pressure? Or along with being an unsuccessful Prime Minister, were you also an unsuccessful economist? I want to ask him?" Vijayvargiya said.

The comments come with judgement day closing in for political parties trying to establish authority in Madhya Pradesh. The 230-seat state assembly is slated to go on polls on November 28, while counting of votes will be held on December 11.