 "Manmohan Singh & Sonia Gandhi")
He spoke on an array of issues in an interview with Jyoti Malhotra of weekly newsmagazine India Today. He decried the state of the economy and said there was a crisis of confidence of the business community in the government. He also said successor Narendra Modi had failed to reach out to Opposition parties, and had an inconsistent foreign policy towards India’s immediate neighbours, particularly Pakistan.
The former PM said despite low oil prices, “the economy is not in as good a shape as it could be”. These low prices had helped the balance of payments, the current account deficit has come down and it had helped the government reduce the fiscal deficit. “In the hands of a purposeful government, this could be an opportunity to step up investment in the economy in a big way,” he said.
The “bonanza” of low oil prices would not last but the Modi government had already spent two of its five years without giving people the feeling that the country was on an upward path. “For example, the rate of growth of bank credit is much lower than would be the case if the economy was on an upward trend,” he said.
“The PM talks about ‘vikas’ (development) but in the growth rate, there is no significant difference from when we left power. In our last year, the rate was 6.9 per cent, while the latest figures today show it is 7-7.2 per cent,” said Singh, the PM from 2004 to 2014.
He said the government had also failed to persuade the business community to take advantage of the “fortuitous” circumstances to step up the rate of investment at home. This rate, he said, was only 32 per cent (of gross domestic product); at the peak of his government, it was 35 per cent.
Singh spoke of a lack of confidence within the business community. “When they talk to civil servants, they tell them they don’t know who the boss is....When we were in government, the business community talked a great deal about ‘tax terrorism’. I continue to hear the same talk when they come and talk to me,” he said.
Not done
On intolerance in society, Singh said he was troubled by the PM’s silence. “He is the Prime Minister of all the people of India and he must give every Indian the confidence that in him, we have a prime minister who cares for our well-being.”
Modi, he said, given his majority in the Lok Sabha, had unique opportunities and “in the hands of a purposeful government and wise leadership, there are enormous opportunities to make progress in the management of the economy and in containing social tensions”. Singh was also critical of Modi’s failure to reach out to opposition parties, including on the goods and services tax legislation. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had called on Singh and Congress party head Sonia Gandhi to invite them for the marriage of his daughter. “But, that is not the way for the government to handle the relationship with the principal Opposition party.”
About his and Sonia Gandhi’s meeting with the PM on the eve of Parliament’s winter session, he said: “Jaitley did all the talking; the PM kept quiet.” On relations with the Congress, he said he’d earlier advised Modi to establish contact and build rapport with both Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi. "You cannot have a situation where you foist cases like the National Herald and then expect?" he said.
Singh, whose prime ministerial tenure saw several foreign policy successes, termed Modi's foreign policy on Pakistan as inconsistent. He also felt that the government handled the Nepal situation poorly.
The former PM, who couldn't visit Pakistan even once during his 10-year tenure, thought Modi's surprise visit to Lahore on December 25 wasn't well thought out. "It is always good to maintain contacts with your neighbours, but there is no need to create euphoria if you are not sure about the outcome of your initiative?" he said.
Singh claimed he had never planned to go to Pakistan in 2007, not even to visit his ancestral village Gah. "In matters of state, one has to be full of sentiments, but one can never be sentimental. I would like to go to my village, but there must be more to it than a mere visit," he said.
Singh also confirmed that there indeed were backchannel talks to resolve Kashmir, but the Mumbai terror attack of 2008 pushed the clock back. He said he envisages a solution of Kashmir where the Line of Control becomes irrelevant and the people of J&K on both sides should be able to trade with each other freely, move around freely, together. On the current situation in Kashmir, Singh said the BJP should create a proper atmosphere.
The former PM had faced a torrid time inside and outside Parliament in the last years of his government, particularly when the BJP, the principal opposition party, used reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General to malign his government. "I'm not bitter about anything, but it hurts me. I had not entered politics to make money for myself, my family or friends, and I felt very sad and hurt when BJP members would walk into the well of the House and say, "Pradhan mantri chor hai." That really hurt me," he said.
On whether history will treat him better than the present, "Yes, I really believe that. I really do hope so," Singh said.
