Manmohan Singh thousand times better than Modi: Kejriwal
New Delhi, May 10: As prime minister, Manmohan Singh was "thousand times" better than Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, who was a key leader of the massive anti-graft movement against the UPA government in 2011, said on Friday.
Calling him a "good man", Kejriwal said it was Singh who shielded India from the global economic recession in 2008 by taking a series of timely measures.
"Manmohan Singh is a good man. He was thousand times better than Modi. He is an educated man, an economist of repute. He understands the economy," he told PTI in an interview.
"In fact in late 2008, when there was global economic depression, India was perhaps the only country which was not impacted by it as Singh took a series of measures and saved the country," Kejriwal added.
Kejriwal along with Anna Hazare had led a massive anti-graft agitation against UPA II between 2011 and 2013 when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister.
A section in the Congress feels that the movement hit Congress's image paving way for Modi to capture power in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
In late 2012, Kejriwal and a number of other leaders of the movement announced formation of the Aam Aadmi Party to fight the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections while Hazare had decided not to join them.
Asked about strong views by several Congress leaders about him as the anti-graft movement damaged the UPA politically, paving the way for Modi to capture power in 2014, Kejriwal said if the demand of a Lokpal was met, then the AAP would not have even born.
"Our movement was against the corruption of the UPA government. Our movement was for Lokpal bill. Why did not the Congress bring the bill. If they did it, our movement would not have continued and Congress would have got a huge credit. If that was the situation, then AAP would not have even been formed," said Kejriwal.
About Modi, Kejriwal said his return to power would be "bad" for India.
The Delhi chief minister alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "totally failed" in delivering anything in any of the key sectors and that is why he has been resorting to "fake nationalism".
"Modi-ji's nationalism is fake. It dangerous for the country," he said.
"He is using the armed forces to get votes as he does not have any work to show," he alleged.
Kejriwal alleged Modi has been "influencing" people's mind through the media, large section of which, he said, the prime minister has captured by "inflicting fear", or by greed.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
