'Manmohan looked away when organised plunder was happening under his rule'

November 08, 2017 22:51

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today hit out at Manmohan Singh over his criticism of demonetisation, alleging that the former prime minister looked away when "organised plunder" kept happening under his rule.

Expressing anguish over Singh dubbing demonetisation as an "organised loot and legalised plunder", she deplored usage of such "strong words" by him against the move, which was aimed at strengthening the economy and held no personal gain for anyone.

"Actually organised plunder and legalised loot kept happening when he was the PM," she said.

Referring to scams, including the 2G spectrum and the cases related to it in courts, she said though these happened during Manmohan Singh's regime, "he did not talk about it and...(it appeared) as if he looked elsewhere".

She said "he (Singh) was only a tool (nimitha matra) and somebody was directing him from behind."

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