Manmohan Singh: 'Was never afraid to speak to press as Prime Minister'

In an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is yet to hold a press conference, his predecessor and Congress veteran Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said as a Prime Minister, "he was never afraid of speaking to the press".

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh addresses a press conference, in Indore. PTI Photo (File)

NEW DELHI: In an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is yet to hold a press conference, his predecessor and Congress veteran Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said as a Prime Minister, "he was never afraid of speaking to the press". The Congress veteran was speaking at the launch of his book "Changing India", where he asserted that India is destined to be a major powerhouse of the global economy. A set of five volumes, "Changing India" details his life as an economist as well as his 10-year period at the helm of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. "I was not the Prime Minister who was afraid of talking to the press. I met the press regularly, and on every foreign trip that I undertook, I had a press conference on return. "There are large number of those press conferences which have been described in the book," Singh was quoted by IANS as saying during the event. "People say I was a silent Prime Minister, but these volumes will speak for themselves. I don't want to boast about my achievements as a Prime Minister, but the events that took place are well described in these volumes," he said. His remarks follow that of Congress President Rahul Gandhi ridiculing Modi for not holding a press conference ever since becoming the Prime Minister in 2014. Talking about future of the country, Manmohan Singh said despite all the hiccups, India was destined to become a major global powerhouse. "The emergence of India as a major global power is one such idea whose time has come and no power on earth can stop such an idea," said Singh quoting Victor Hugo, whom he had quoted as the then Finance Minister during his historic 1991 budget speech. "Despite all hiccups, hurdles, India will get its action right... India is destined to be a major powerhouse of global economy," he said. Talking about the Reserve Bank of India, Singh said the relationship between the government and the RBI is like that of "husband-wife" and the difference of opinions must be resolved in a manner that the two institutions work in harmony. The comments came against the backdrop of Urjit Patel resigning as RBI Governor earlier this month amid a tussle between the central bank and the finance ministry on matters ranging from the appropriate size of reserves the central bank must hold to the easing of lending norms for sectors such as small and medium enterprises. Singh, who is also a former RBI governor, said one has to respect the autonomy and the independence of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). "At the same time, I would say the relation between government and RBI is like husband-wife relationship. There will be hiccups, there will be difference of opinion, but ultimately these must be harmonised in a manner that these two great institutions can work in harmony,"  PTI quoted Singh as saying. (With inputs from agencies)