Former PM Manmohan Singh calls on media to be vigilant, point out govt shortcomings

Manmohan Singh served as the prime minister from 2004-14 (File image)

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called on the media to be vigilant as it played a crucial role when it came to nation building.

"I believe that the media has a very important contribution to make in the process of nation-building, " Singh said on November 8.

"We expect the media to be vigilant, to point out the shortcomings of the government and thus help in improving the effectiveness of governance," the former PM added.

Singh was delivering an address via video-conference after being given the Fiscal Heritage Award at the TIOL Awards 2022.

Singh, who demitted office in 2014, said diligence and truth were key to his term as prime minister and that his life and tenure in public office were an open book.

"I owe everything to this country, this great land of ours where I, an underprivileged child of Partition, was empowered enough to rise and occupy high offices. It is both a debt that I will never be able to repay and a decoration that I will always wear with pride," Singh said.

"Governments come and governments go. But this great nation of ours is heir to one the oldest civilizations known to humanity. Its history is marked by continuity and change, and a remarkable cultural plurality," he further said, going on to add that he is confident India would continue to rise and blend tradition with modernity and unity with diversity.