Manmohan Singh takes on PM Modi, says ‘govt wants to make institutions like CBI suffer’

Singh was present at launch of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s book ‘The Paradoxial Prime Minister’when he made the statement.

Manmohan Singh at Shashi Tharoor book launch

New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday took on PM Modi and said that “his rule is not good for the country because he has broken the trust of voters”. He also said that Modi has given rise to a party which has maintained silence on issues like Communal violence, mob lynching and cow protection. Singh was present at launch of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s book ‘The Paradoxial Prime Minister’when he made the statement. He accused that through Modi government, national organizations like universities and CBI are made to suffer. . Manmohan Singh’s statement has come amid the issues going on within CBI, where the powers of the top two bosses of the agency have been snatched and an interim charge has been given to Nageswara Rao. The matter is currently in apex court. The court has asked CVC to probe the case on allegations levied on Alok Verma within 15 days. He said Modi is a "paradoxical prime minister" and Tharoor has demonstrated this through his "superbly written and devastatingly accurate book". Tharoor's book is titled "The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi and His India". "He (Modi) has spoken of being a prime minister for all Indians but the government he presides over has been mostly silent in the face of widespread communal violence, mob lynching and cow vigilantism. ANI image "At the same time, academic freedoms are being sought to be curbed. The environment in our universities and national institutions like the CBI is being vitiated and dissent stifled," Singh alleged. Speaking during a panel discussion at the event after Singh's address, former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, when asked about the CBI, said, "We have the most 'credible bureau of investigation' and we have the most enlightened directorate, ED. Who am I to comment on that? I am one of their favourite...This is again an example of how institutions are being destroyed."