Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has charged that the Modi government has destroyed the developments achieved by the UPA government in four years.

Speaking to reporters today in Bengaluru, Singh said the Modi led NDA government did not handle the economy properly.

"Prime Minister Modi hasn't held a single press conference in the last four years. That itself is a reflection of the state of affairs," the former prime minister remarked.

"Our nation today is experiencing difficult times. Our farmers are facing an acute crisis, our aspirational youth are not finding opportunities, and the economy is growing below its potential," Singh said. He said the "unfortunate truth" was that each of these crises was "entirely avoidable".

“It is shocking that a prime minister stoops so low and uses such language and phraseology which is unbecoming of a prime minister, particularly when he is in a state where elections are taking place. No prime minister has used election time to say things in manner that Modiji has been trying. I sincerely hope he will now learn a lesson and not seek to polarise the society," Mr. Singh added.

When asked about various issues, the Prime Minister blames 70 years of Congress rule. He has forgotten the Green Revolution and have forgotten the UPA government’s policies that have brought millions of people out of poverty, “Mr. Singh said.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Congress will hold protests across the country on Wednesday against the Centre's rural employment bill VB-G RAM G that seeks to replace MGNREGA, claiming it was a "BJP-RSS conspiracy" to dismantle a rights-based welfare scheme and attack Mahatma Gandhi's legacy, workers' rights and federal responsibility.

The opposition party's general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal, in a letter to all state Congress presidents, urged them to organise protests at all district headquarters.

These protests must be held with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, symbolising resistance to the erasure of his name and values, and highlight how the proposed law will impact the crores of beneficiaries of MGNREGA, he said in the letter.

"The combined attack on Gandhiji's legacy, workers' rights and federal responsibility exposes a larger BJP-RSS conspiracy to dismantle rights-based welfare and replace it with charity controlled from the Centre," Venugopal said.

The opposition has strongly objected to the introduction of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, when it was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday.

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The Congress and other opposition MPs also staged a protest in Parliament House complex over the Centre's move.

In the letter to the Congress state unit chief, Venugopal said that on December 28, the party's Foundation Day, programmes should be organised at all blocks and villages, with Mahatma Gandhi's portraits, reaffirming the party's commitment to the dignity of labour, social justice and the right to work.

"This is both a political and moral struggle. The Congress must lead from the front to defend MGNREGA, Gandhiji's legacy and the constitutional promise of justice for the poorest," Venugopal said in a post on X.

In his letter, he said the BJP government has taken an alarming and deliberate step by introducing a bill to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

"This is not a routine legislative exercise. It is a calculated political move to weaken a historical, rights-based people's law and to erase Mahatma Gandhi's name and values from India's most recognisable welfare legislation.

"This combined attack on Gandhiji's legacy, rights and federal responsibility exposes a larger BJP-RSS conspiracy to dismantle rights-based welfare and replace it with charity controlled from the Centre," he noted.