Our Correspondent /New Delhi
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh in a missive to President of India Ram Nath Kovind has complained about a “threatening and intimidating” speech made by successor Narendra Modi during an election campaign in Karnataka’s Hubli.
The strongly-worded letter, which begins with the oath of office administered to a prime minister, has also been signed by other senior Congress leaders, including P Chidambaram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Ahmed Patel and Ambika Soni among others.
In the letter, Singh asked the President to ensure that Modi maintains the decorum of his office while referring to the opposition.
The letter mentions the YouTube link to Modi’s speech in Hubli on May 6, in which the PM allegedly warned the Congress to “stay within limits or Modi would ensure that they are controlled”.
PM Modi’s unbecoming conduct & threatening language deserves severe condemnation. No PM has stooped so low & brought the office of Prime Minister into disrepute as Modi ji has continuously done.
Former PM,Dr Manmohan Singh & Senior Congress leaders write to Rashtrapati ji. pic.twitter.com/E7kWPclL0B
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 14, 2018
Singh referred to a clause in the Constitution which lays down guidelines for the PM and his ministers on the protocol to be followed.
“The threat held out by the Prime Minister to the INC’s leadership deserves to be condemned. This cannot be the language of the Prime Minister of a constitutionally governed democratic country of 1.3 billion people. Such discourse whether in public or private is unacceptable conduct,” the letter said.
In an interview recently, Singh had advised the PM to practise what he preached four years ago. “He used to criticise me for not speaking up. I feel that the advice that he used to give me, he should follow it himself,” Singh had said.