On a day Manmohan Singh attacked the BJP-led central government over demonetisation, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani raked up the "coal scam" and accused the former prime minister as well as Congress president Sonia Gandhi of having an "anti-Gujarat" mindset.
In a series of tweets, he also sought an apology from Singh over the "policy paralysis, development stagnation and rampant corruption during the 10 years of the UPA rule" and for "stalling work on the Narmada Dam for 10 years".
Campaigning for his party in poll-bound Gujarat, Singh today described demonetisation as a "reckless step" and reiterated that the scrapping of high-value currency notes was an "organised loot and a legalised plunder".
Taking on the former PM, Rupani said Singh, as an economist, should have supported the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which "benefits every Indian".
He alleged that then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was the subject of a "witch hunt during the 10 years of the UPA rule, which used the full might of the state machinery" against him.
Rupani accused Singh of making "zero effort" in improving the "ease of doing business ranking of India and helping the MSME sector".
"Will Dr Manmohan Singh apologise for policy paralysis, development stagnation, and rampant corruption during 10 years of UPA (sic)?" the CM asked in a tweet.
"Being an economist shouldn't Dr Manmohan Singh have supported GST, which benefits every Indian? Why do Dr Manmohan Singh, Smt Sonia Gandhi and UPA have an anti-Gujarat mindset (sic)?" he questioned in another tweet.
"Dr Singh, please apologise to people of Gujarat for stalling work on Narmada Dam for 10 years. What sinister notices guided you?" he wrote on the microblogging website.
The chief minister alleged that for 10 years, the UPA used the full might of the state machinery and subjected then Gujarat chief minister Modi to a witchhunt and added that being an economist, one would have expected Singh to make the business environment easier, but the UPA made it tougher.
"As the PM of the most corrupt government in India's history, shouldn't Dr Singh apologise to 125 crore Indians (sic)?" Rupani asked.
"Dr Manmohan Singh, as a minister concerned, were you complicit or complacent in the coal scam? Dr Singh, we know silence is your way but you could at least have spoken when crores of rupees left India as black money in your term (sic)," he said.
The chief minister also sought to know whether the UPA undertook even a single measure to bring back the black money stashed abroad.
"Whose corrupt deeds were you protecting for ten years as Prime Minister, we ask Dr Singh (sic)," Rupani said in another tweet.
"Is it not true that the UPA government was actively considering handing over Sir Creek to Pakistan?" he asked.
The BJP leader alleged that it was the UPA which committed an organised loot and plunder for 10 years and said that If the Congress-led regime thought about the country and not one family, things would have been different.
"Congress leaders come to Gujarat and remember Sardar Patel during polls. People of Gujarat will never believe their empty words (sic)," he said.
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