PM Modi welcoming former prime minister Manmohan Singh at 7 RCR on Wednesday
Accused by former aides and colleagues of permissiveness towards corruption in his government, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said, "I have not used my public office to enrich myself, my family members or my friends."
His assertion comes the day after Pradip Baijal, the former head of the country's telecom regulator, said that Dr Singh asked him not to obstruct policies that were being implemented to allow a massive scam in the allocation of mobile network licenses in 2009.
This evening, Dr Singh met with the Prime Minister at his home. The PM tweeted their photo with this message:
However, Dr Singh's secretary GM Pillai later issued a statement which said the former PM visited 7 RCR at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that the two leaders discussed economy and foreign policy.
The meeting came after Amit Shah, the chief of the PM's party, said Dr Singh's statement on corruption shirked accountability. "I accept the PM was not corrupt, but it was his job to ensure the same of his ministers," said BJP chief Amit Shah.
Years later, the first-come-first-serve rules would be heavily twisted to cost the country Rs 1.76 lakh crore, according to the national auditor. The "2G scam", named for second-generation airwaves involved, has led to Mr Maran's successor, former Telecom Minister A Raja, being charged with criminal conspiracy and corruption, along with executives of top telecoms.
Mr Baijal's accusations of the PM's refusal to prevent his ministers from indulging in graft comes after similar claims by his former aide and media advisor Sanjaya Baru and former Coal Secretary PC Parakh.
After the 2G scam, Dr Singh's government was battered by "Coal-Gate" which saw private firms colluding with government officers for severely underpriced mining rights. Dr Singh has been questioned about a coal field given during a time when he held direct charge of the Coal Ministry to a company owned by industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla. Mr Birla and Dr Singh have denied any wrongdoing.