Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday came down heavily on his successor Narendra Modi, saying he indulged in the “most vicious” form of hate speeches which are purely divisive in nature and Modi is the first Prime Minister to “lower the dignity of public discourse and thereby the gravity of the office of the Prime Minister”. He also slammed the BJP government, saying the saffron party left no stone un turned in castigating Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat. In a three-page letter to the people of Punjab, Singh, who led the UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments at the Centre be tween 2004 and 2014, said, “I have been keenly following the political discourse during this election campaign.” Targeting Modi for his speeches in Rajasthan in April this year, Singh said, “Modiji 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. 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 said. Manmohan Singh made the remarks after Modi, at a rally in Rajasthan in April, alleged that the Congress, if voted to power, would dis tribute the country’s wealth to “those who have more children”. Prime Minister Modi had also cited Manmohan Singh’s remarks that minorities had the first claim on the country’s resources. Taking a jibe at Modi and the BJP over his 2006 statement, Manmohan Singh said, “He (Modi) has also attributed some false statements to me. I have never in my life singled out one community from the other. That is the sole copy right of the BJP.” He further said that people of India are seeing through all of this. “This narrative of dehumanization has now reached its peak. It is now our duty to save our beloved nation from these forces of discord,” the former Prime Minister said. He said that India is standing at a crucial juncture. “In the impending last phase of voting, we have one final chance to ensure that democracy and our Constitution are protected from the repeated assaults of a despotic regime, trying to unleash dictatorship in India,” he said. Hitting out at PM Modi’s promise to double farmers’ income by 2022, Singh said his successor’s policies eroded the earnings of the farmers in the past 10 years.
“Modiji had promised to double the income of our farmers by 2022. His policies in the last ten years have eroded the earnings of our farmers. The national average monthly income of farmers is a meagre Rs. 27 rupees per day, while average debt per farmer is Rs. 27,000 (NSSO). High cost of input, including fuel and fertilizers, coupled with GST on at least 35 farm related equipment and a whimsical decision making in farm export and import, has destroyed the savings of our farm households and left them on the margins of our society,” he said. He highlighted that how the Congress-UPA government had provided a loan waiver worth Rs 72,000 crore to 3.73 crore farmers, increased the MSP, widened its spectrum, increased pro duction, while encouraging exports. “All this resulted in double the growth in Agriculture in our period, as compared to the last 10 years,” he said. Taking a pot shot at the BJP, Manmohan Singh said that Punjab and Punjabis are warriors. “We are known for our spirit of sacrifice. Our indomitable courage and innate belief in the democratic ethos of inclusiveness, harmony, amity, and brotherhood can protect our great nation,” he said. “In the past ten years, the BJP government has left no stone unturned in castigating Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat. 750 farmers, mostly belonging to Pun jab, 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 de mand was the withdrawal of the three farm laws imposed on them without consulting them,” he said. He also said Congress’ five guarantees under “Kisaan Nyay” in its manifesto and said that these include-a legal guarantee of the MSP, a stable export-import policy for agriculture, a Permanent Commission on Agricultural Finance for loan waivers, direct transfer of insured compensation to the farmers in 30 days in case of crop losses and removal of GST on farm input products and equipment.