 "I told Modi to talk to Soniaji to get Congress on board: Manomhan Singh")
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is known for his reticence, has spoken out. And he minces no words when he says that the state of the Indian economy is worrying and so is the Centre's flip-flops on Pakistan. In an interview with Jyoti Malhotra of India Today, Singh, one of the most reputed economists and academicians, has talked about a range of subjects including his "disappointment" with the Narendra Modi-led government for not reaching out to the Congress. Moreover, the taciturn former PM has accused the Prime Minister of not speaking out on crucial issues, such as Dadri lynching.
The former PM has said the economy is not in as good shape as it could be, despite the fact that the situation today is much more favourable than it was when the Congress-led UPA was in the government. “For example, oil prices had at that time gone up to $150 a barrel, today they are close to $30 a barrel. This has significantly helped India's balance of payments, the current account deficit has come down, it has helped the government reduce the fiscal deficit, and in the hands of a purposeful government, this could be an opportunity to step up investment in the economy in a big way”.
About Modi government's foreign policy, he has said that India's relations with major powers have certainly improved. "But that was also the case with us. We had good relations with Russia, China, Japan, the US, France and Germany."
On nuclear deal with the US, he said: “The nuclear deal with the US was a path-breaking effort to break the vicious circle of nuclear apartheid. We ended the isolation of India. But I would say that the real test of foreign policy is in the handling of your neighbours."
Manmohan Singh also said in the interview that the Centre should talk to Hurriyat in order to resolve the Kashmir issue. "There is no harm in talking to them [Hurriyat]. Even the previous government, Atalji's government, was talking to them, we were talking to them, and our stand has been that the Hurriyat, instead of talking to Pakistan, should talk to us. And therefore the sensitivity that is required to handle the relationship with Jammu & Kashmir has been missing in the Modi government. Our view with regard to Jammu & Kashmir was that borders cannot be redrawn. If borders cannot be redrawn, then you must find other ways of dealing with the problem which will satisfy the people of Jammu & Kashmir as well as India and Pakistan."
On Parliament logjam, where Treasury and Opposition benches are hardly talking to each other, he said: “That is not good for democracy, for the country. There is unwanted bitterness between the two sides. It doesn't have to be that way.” According tho him, the bitterness exists because the ruling party doesn't feel that it needs the Congress in managing the country. "I had told him that if you really want to improve relations with the Congress party, it's much more essential than ever before for you to establish contact with the Congress leadership, particularly with Soniaji and Rahul Gandhi."
On scams like CWG, 2G or Coalgate, he told India Today: "I really feel sad about those years, that reports of the CAG were used by the Opposition to disrupt the functioning of Parliament. Actually the reports of the CAG must be discussed in the public accounts committee, but the day the report was published, the BJP brought up the matter in Parliament and it was disrupted. So, we never had any opportunity to put out our view of what really happened. Parliament was never given an opportunity to objectively examine what the situation was and that has always remained a sore point with me."
On the killing of a Muslim man by a mob in Uttar Pradesh, he said: "The public in our country expects the Prime Minister to take the lead in managing public opinion. But he has never spoken; whether it is on the beef problem or whether it is what happened in Muzaffarnagar or elsewhere, he has kept quiet."
