New Delhi: Manmohan Singh, once nicknamed Maunmohan by Narendra Modi, has delivered the most comprehensive and stringent critique yet of the Prime Minister and his governance, declaring failure with "both the head and the heart".
Citing statistics but taking care to throw in personal elements and a historical perspective in the run-up to the demonetisation anniversary, the former Prime Minister strafed his successor from multiple flanks.
But the economist kept the overall message simple and direct: "bravado and drama" are poor substitutes for the ability to execute well.
"Good governance involves both the head and the heart. It pains me to say that the government has completely failed to do its duty on both fronts," Singh told a gathering of entrepreneurs and intellectuals in Ahmedabad.
Aware that a former Prime Minister cannot be seen as rabble-rousing, Singh said he was speaking "with a sense of deep responsibility".
Striking at the root of the argument that demonetisation was pro-poor and anti-rich, Singh cited Mahatma Gandhi’s talisman test and said: "Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man or woman whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him or her."
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