On last day, MMS launches blistering attack on PM Modi

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday came down heavily on his successor Narendra Modi, saying he indulged in the "most vicious" form of hate speeches which are purely divisive in nature and Modi is the first Prime Minister to "lower the dignity of public discourse and thereby the gravity of the office of the Prime Minister".

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He also slammed the BJP government, saying the saffron party left no stone unturned in castigating Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat.

In a three-page letter to the people of Punjab, Singh, who led the UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments at the Centre between 2004 and 2014, said, "I have been keenly following the political discourse during this election campaign." Targeting Modi for his speeches in Rajasthan in April this year, Singh said, 'Modiji has indulged in the most vicious form of hate speeches, which are purely divisive in nature." "Modi ji is the first Prime Minister to lower the dignity of public discourse, and thereby the gravity of the office of the Prime Minister. No Prime Minister in the past has uttered such hateful, unparliamentary and coarse terms, meant to target either a specific section of the society or the opposition," he said.

Manmohan Singh made the remarks after Modi, at a rally in Rajasthan in April, alleged that the Congress, if voted to power, would distribute the country's wealth to "those who have more children". Prime Minister Modi had also cited Manmohan Singh's remarks that minorities had the first claim on the country's resources.