'Most vicious form of hate speeches': Manmohan Singh's stinging attack on PM Modi; top 6 charges

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Manmohan Singh-led government of having said that Muslims have the first right to the country's assets, the former Prime Minister attacked the BJP leader for "indulging in most vicious form of hate speeches" amid the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

In a letter addressed to the people of India ahead of the last phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1, Manmohan Singh launched a series of attacks at the current Prime Minister accusing him of using hateful and unparliamentary terms.

Here's what the former PM said to the public in his letter:

1. "I have been keenly following the political discourse during this election campaign, Modi ji has indulged in the most vicious form of hate speeches, which are purely divisive in nature. Modi ji is the first Prime Minister to lower the dignity of public discourse, and thereby the gravity of the office of the Prime Minister."

2. Singh said that no Prime Minister in the past has uttered such hateful, unparliamentary and coarse terms, meant to target either a specific section of the society or the opposition. "He has also attribute some false statements to me. I have never in my life singled out one community from the other. That is the sole copyright of the BJP," the former PM said.

3. India is at a crucial juncture, said Singh, adding that in the impending last phase of voting, the people of the country have one final chance to ensure that democracy and the country's constitution are protected from the repeated assaults of a despotic regime, trying to unleash dictatorship in India.

4. Noting that the BJP has left no stone unturned in castigating Punjab, Singh said 750 famers mostly belonging to Punjab, were martyred while incessantly waiting at Delhi borders for months together. "As if the lathis and the rubber bullets were not enough, none less than the Prime Minister verbally assaulted our farmers by calling them "Andolanjeevis" and "Parjeevi" (parasites) on the floor of the Parliament. Their only demand was the withdrawal of the three farm laws imposed on them without consulting them," Singh said.

5. Manmohan Singh also stated that in the last ten years, the nation's economy has witnessed unimaginable turmoil. "The imposition of the demonetisation disaster, a flawed GST, and the painful mismanagement during the Covid pandemic has resulted in a miserable situation, where an expectation of a subpar 6-7 per cent GDP growth has become the new normal," the letter read.

6. The BJP government imposed an ill-conceived Agniveer scheme on our Armed Forces, said Singh. He added, "The BJP thinks that the value of patriotism, bravery and service is only four years. This shows their fake nationalism."