Stop using bad language: PM Manmohan Singh takes on Narendra Modi

RAIPUR: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday made an indirect, yet sharp attack on BJP’s prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi, saying it was unbecoming of senior political leaders to use “bad language” while referring to political rivals. He also slammed the Raman Singh-led BJP government for failing to tackle Naxalite trouble in many parts of the state.

Singh spoke at a thinly-attended meeting inside an indoor stadium in Chhattisgarh’s capital where he paid rich tributes to senior Congress leaders killed in the May 25 Naxalite ambush in Bastar. In a speech that evoked tepid response from the crowd, the PM termed as “strange” claims by the BJP that the state government was prompt in ordering an inquiry into the Naxalite strike which killed Congress leaders such as Nand Kishore Patel and Mahendra Karma.

It is the BJP government that failed to protect them, Singh argued, adding that law and order in the state had deteriorated under BJP rule. While taking a dig at Modi — who invariably refers to Rahul as “shahzada” and who called Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar a traitor — Singh said the Congress will desist from making similar comments. He criticised “some leaders” for altering history and geography at their whim.