Manmohan was no free market ideologue: Montek

Former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not a “free market ideologue” but a leader who balanced growth with equity, combining economic reform with deep personal integrity and a belief in the state’s developmental role.

- ASIT RANJAN MISHRA

Delivering a lecture on “The Life and Legacy of Dr Manmohan Singh”, organised by the Prime Ministers Museum and Library as part of its Prime Ministers Lecture Series, Ahluwalia recalled Singh as “both a mentor and a role model”.

Ahluwalia said while Singh’s economic vision liberalised India’s economy, his approach was grounded in pragmatism rather than ideology. “He belonged to a generation that believed the state had an important role to play. He was not a free market fundamentalist. His own early experience of life made him powerfully aware that a great deal needed to be done to give the poor in rural areas a fair chance of realising their potential,” he said.