Manmohan Singh launches scathing attack on Modi govt once again: Here's a look at some of his recent jibes

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, the man who is known for his golden silence, opened up at a press conference in Karnataka and launched a scathing attack on prime minister Narendra Modi and the ruling government.

Singh, a noted economist, has accused the NDA government of systematically dismantling Indian economy, the third largest in the world.

Here’s a look at some of the scathing comments directed at the Modi government by Singh

-“It was ‘shocking’ that he (Narendra Modi) was ‘stooping so low’ and using language that was unbecoming of a prime minister.”

-“No prime minister had used the office to say things about his opponents that Mr Modi has been doing day in and day out....It is not good for the country.”

-Singh attacked the government over a series of banking frauds, saying the money swindled almost quadrupled from Rs 28,416 crore in September 2013 to Rs 1.11 lakh crore in September 2017.

-“The economic mismanagement of the Modi government, and I say this with great care and responsibility, is slowly eroding the trust of the general public in the banking sector."

-"Our nation today is experiencing difficult times. Our farmers are facing an acute crisis, our aspirational youth are not finding opportunities, and the economy is growing below its potential."

He said the "unfortunate truth" was that each of these crises was "entirely avoidable".

-"It pains me to see how rather than standing up to all these challenges, the government's response has been to stifle dissent when deficiencies are pointed out.”

Noting that economic policy has a significant impact on the lives of people, he said it was essential that those tasked with decision making pay careful attention to policies and programmes and not act on mere whims and fancies.

-"India is a complex and diverse country and no one person can be the repository of all wisdom.”

He said every time an answer was sought for any of the "disastrous policies" of the BJP government, "all we hear is that the intentions are virtuous".

"Its lack of reasoning and analysis is costing India and our collective future."

-Inadequate investment, he said, was the "single biggest weak point" in the management of the economy under Modi.

-The Modi government, he alleged, was making deliberate efforts to paint a "rosy" picture of the economy that was not backed by hard facts.

-Singh known for turning around the Indian economy from its lowest point said, “It took years to make Indian economy the third largest economy … now it is being systematically dismantled.”