Modi marketing old wares in name of development, says Manmohan

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 14

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took a rare swipe today at his successor Narendra Modi accusing him of "marketing old wares in the name of development".

Addressing a Congress event on the occasion of the 126th birth anniversary of Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru today, Singh asked party workers to go across India and counter "the misunderstandings being spread by the BJP government about the contributions of Nehru to nation-building".

"Mahatma Gandhi had much earlier chosen Nehru as his successor. Nehru had a majestic role in laying the foundation of modern India. Today, some forces are trying to spread misgivings about his role. It's important that we go to the people and counter this narrative," Manmohan Singh said as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and senior leaders AK Antony, Ahmad Patel, Ambika Soni and former Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda listened from the front row on the dais.

In an unusual attack on PM Modi, Manmohan Singh faulted the development model being pursued by the government, especially the PM's claims of development on foreign soil, the latest being in the UK. 

"In the name of development, the PM is marketing old wares. He does not know how development is to be delivered. Nehru was the one who conceived the model of planned development for India when the then Congress president Subhash Chandra Bose named him the head of the party's committee on planning," Singh said, warning people against communal forces "out to divide the country".

Manmohan Singh's reference was to the government's decision of disbanding the Planning Commission and replacing it with NITI Ayog after the BJP was voted to power last May. 

The former PM also reiterated Congress' commitment to the development model that marries economic growth with social justice delivery.

BJP hits back at Cong