Most of black wealth was generated during UPA govt: RSS to Manmohan Singh

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday called the demonetisation drive a case of "organised loot and legalised plunder",

New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Friday lashed out at Manmohan Singh, a day after the former prime minister called the Narendra Modi government's demonetisation drive a case of "organised loot and legalised plunder".

Talking to Firstpost, J Nandkumar, Akhil Bharatiya Sah Prachar Pramukh of the RSS, said: “Manmohan Singh is considered one of the top economists, but what did he do in the two terms of the UPA government as prime minister? Most of the black wealth was generated during this period, with a series of high-profile scams, and he was at the helm of affairs. Wasn’t that an organised loot of the nation’s wealth?”

Nandkumar further said: “There’s no politics behind the action taken by the Modi government against counterfeit currency and black money through this demonetisation move. Modi took this courageous decision not as a politician but as a reformist, who’s looking at the next generation, and not at the next election.”

Manmohan Singh, a front bencher in the Rajya Sabha, made a rare speech in the House yesterday to talk on the government's move of spiking 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and how it was going to impact India's economy.

As the man of few words spoke for about seven minutes, a hushed Rajya Sabha listened quietly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also present.

The scathing criticism from the Congress leader, who opened up India's economy in 1991, invited a rebuke from Jaitley who alleged that most black money was accumulated in India from 2004-14 when Manmohan Singh headed a coalition government.

"It is disappointing to hear from people who were in charge of the government when the most black money was generated, most corruption scandals came to the fore," Jaitley said, referring to the financial scams that emerged during Manmohan Singh's rule.