Slamming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the poor state of economy and the slide in the Indian rupee, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said he has damaged the country’s image.
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, aap desh ki izzat ko dhool me milane ka kaam kar rahe hain,” (PM Manmohan Singh, you are damaging India’s reputation),” Chouhan said at a convention of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), BJP’s youth wing. Under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule, prices of diesel and petrol had sky-rocketed and inflation was spiralling sharply, causing hardship to the people, he said.
“When BJP-led National Development Alliance (NDA) was in power, the price of a dollar was around Rs 44, but now it trades between Rs 63 and Rs 66. Both Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have mortgaged the country’s self-respect,” Chouhan alleged. He said even the country’s borders were unsafe under the UPA regime, resulting in killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistan.
“Despite these incidents, they are talking about holding talks with Pakistan, which is totally uncalled for. People will never forgive them for mortgaging the country’s self esteem,” Chouhan said. He also blamed Congress general secretary and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh for the mess in the education sector because of which, he alleged, careers of an entire generation of teachers got ruined.
He said that during Congress rule which lasted for nearly 60 years, only 47,000 km of roads were constructed, while in the last ten years, 95,000 km of roads were built in the State. Until 2003, the State produced 2900 MW of power, but now it generated 10,000 MW and would soon cross the 14,000 MW mark, he said.