Cong along can counter BJP's divisive ideology: Manmohan Singh

Kochi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said Congress alone could counter the “divisive ideology” of BJP and accused the party of unleashing a misleading propaganda that UPA government had not acted tough to contain corruption and the country’s development suffered in the last 10 years. At an election meeting here, Singh also took jibes at the Left saying that its stock was bound to dwindle further in the future unless they changed in tune with the times. [caption id=“attachment_1468097” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. PTI[/caption] Refuting the criticism that the UPA had not acted tough against corruption, Singh said efforts to bring in some more legislations to address the issue failed due to “total lack of co-operation” from the opposition parties. “We have taken firm measures to contain corruption than any other government. We have also seen that steps have been taken to bring the guilty to book,” he said, seeking votes for Congress candidate and Union Minister KV Thomas, who is contesting from Ernakulam. Dwelling at length on the performance of the UPA rule, Singh dubbed as “misleading propaganda” the opposition charge that growth and development had suffered in the last 10 years. Striking a personal note, Singh said he had served the country with “honesty, commitment and hard work” not only as prime minister but also in whatever position he held earlier. He said the country has been able to make significant progress during UPA rule compared to any other regime after Independence. While taking the country on the path of growth, UPA government also ensured that the benefit of prosperity reached all sections, especially minorities, women and other weaker sections. Admitting that the government could not do enough to contain inflation, Singh noted that price of food items through the PDS had not been increased by a single paise, giving relief to the poor. “We have not been as successful in containing inflation as we should have. However, our efforts in curbing inflation has had good results in recent days,” he said. PTI