BJP govt taking country on 'wrong path': Manmohan Singh
Mohali, Dec 10: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh alleged Monday the BJP-led central government was taking the country towards a "wrong path" and the nation's freedom could be under threat due to its actions.
He said the Congress had played an important role in strengthening the country's freedom, but "during the last four and a half years, the BJP laid emphasis on things which could adversely affect India's history".
"This can again endanger country's freedom," he said.
Manmohan Singh was speaking at the re-launch 'Navjivan', a Hindi newspaper that was first launched in 1919 by Mahatma Gandhi but was closed several times during the British regime.
"I want to appeal to the people that they should understand how the present government is taking the nation on a wrong path and there is a need to strongly fight against it," he said, adding former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had once said that "Freedom is in peril, defend it with all its might."
He said Punjab had played a vital role in the fight for country's freedom.
The event was attended by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and other party workers.
Congress leader and Associated Journals Limited chairman Motilal Vora on the occasion said after Mahatma Gandhi was sent to jail in 1920, he had asked Jawaharlal Nehru to run the paper.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh could not attend the event due to ill-health.
"I regret not being able to attend the function, as I've been advised bed rest by the doctors," he tweeted.
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Manipur: Mortal remains of children killed in bomb attack handed over to family
Imphal (PTI): The mortal remains of two children, who were killed in a bomb attack in Manipur's Bishnupur district in April, were handed over to family members on Saturday, officials said.
The bodies of the five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister were kept in the morgue for 25 days, as the family members had refused to accept the mortal remains, demanding that the perpetrators be brought to book at the earliest.
On April 25, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh had appealed to the family members of the children to accept the bodies. Singh had also said that all efforts were underway to find the culprits.
The two children were killed in a bomb attack at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur district on April 7. Their bodies were kept in the morgue at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal.
The incident had triggered widespread violent protests in the five valley districts of Manipur, and the case was subsequently handed over to the NIA.
Hundreds of people lined up along the way to Tronglaobi to offer floral tributes, as the mortal remains were taken for the last rites in an open vehicle earlier in the day.
