Hours after former prime minister Manmohan Singh launched a scathing attack at the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hit back at the former, saying the Congress leader has no sense of economy and politics. Earlier in the day, in one of his most fierce attacks on the BJP dispensation, Singh said Modi should be shown exit door as his five-year rule has been "most traumatic and devastating" for India, adding that demonetisation was perhaps the "biggest scam" of independent India.
In a stern reply, Jaitley, on the other hand said, the former prime minister had brought down his party to the lowest ever strength in Parliament and lost the sense of economy after he stepped into politics.
Taking to twitter, Jaitley wrote, "When an Economist turns into a politician, he looses sense of both economy and politics". "Dr Manmohan Singh left behind in 2014 an economic slowdown, policy paralysis and corruption. He brought down his party to lowest ever strength in Parliament. India was a part of the fragile five," he added.
"Today he regards the World’s fastest growing major economy as disastrous," the finance minister alleged in a series of tweets.
Singh, in an exclusive interview with PTI, on Sunday accused the Modi government of leaving the economy in dire straits due to its "lack of economic vision". The senior economist also alleged that the lack of any vision or understanding of the country's dynamics of the economy by the Narendra Modi-led government has led to "disruptive" decisions like demonetisation.
In an apparent reference to Modi’s "bhrashtachari No 1" remark on late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Jaitley further asked why Rahul Gandhi gets disturbed when integrity issues of his father are raised and the 'Q' connection in the Bofors gun-deal is questioned.
Addressing an election rally in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, Modi had on Saturday took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, saying "Your father was termed Mr Clean by his courtiers, but his life ended as bhrashtachari No 1".
Replying to this, the Gandhi scion had tweeted, "Modi Ji, The battle is over. Your Karma awaits you. Projecting your inner beliefs about yourself onto my father won't protect you. All my love and a huge hug?"
Jaitley in his response, said, "Why is Rahul Gandhi so disturbed if integrity issues of the Rajiv Gandhi Government are raised? Why did Ottavio Quattrocchi get kickbacks in Bofors? Who was the ‘Q’ connection? No reply has come".
"The Dynast can attack the integrity of India's Prime Minister – a man of utmost honesty. Does he believe that the dynasty does not have to answer any questions?" the senior BJP leader went on to claim further.
Moving on to former prime minister Indira Gandhi, Jaitley said the Congress is questioned about the Emergency and the Operation Blue Star even after the assassination of the party stalwart. "Indira Gandhi was also assassinated and yet Congress is questioned about Emergency and Operation Blue Star," he wrote.
The Bofors defence deal was believed to be one of the primary reasons for the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress's defeat in the 1989 Lok Sabha polls.
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