Shiv Sena praises Manmohan Singh, says can't forget his contribution

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena Tuesday sought to play down the "praise" lavished on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over attracting foreign investments, saying the contributions of P V Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh towards bolstering India's economy can't be forgotten.

"Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi is immensely popular in foreign countries, people like Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh laid the foundation of India's economic progress and opened the country's gates for other nations. How can we forget their contribution?" the Sena said in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

The comment from the party, which is an ally of the BJP-led government at the Centre and in Maharashtra, comes in the backdrop of Modi's address to the Indian diaspora yesterday where the PM deprecated the culture of graft in the country in a veiled attack on corruption in the UPA regime.

"In our country it doesn't take much for allegations to come up against politicians... Someone made 50 crores, someone's son made 250 crores, (someone's) daughter made 500 crores, (someone's) damaad (son-in-law) made 1000 crores..." Modi had said.

The Sena said that both the formers Prime Ministers gave a direction to the country's economy when it was in a bad shape.

"Though Manmohan Singh believed in an ideology not similar to ours, we have to accept he wanted the best for our nation," the Sena said.

The party further said that a revolution in Doordarshan and the telecommunication sector first happened during the regime of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which was carried forward by her successor and son Rajiv Gandhi.

"Doordarshan started telecasting its programmes pan-India since 1982. It was on August 15, 1982 that Indira Gandhi's Independence Day address to the nation was first telecast on DD in colour," Sena said.

"Later, it was Rajiv Gandhi who brought an era of computers and ensured that every village had phone and STD booths. He and his advisor Sam Pitroda are known as the architects of Indian telecommunication sector," the Sena added.