Slamming the Modi government, former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the current dispensation has “no understanding of economic policy” at a time the country is recuperating from a post-COVID-19 financial downslide.

“They (BJP-led government) have no understanding of economic policy. The issue is not limited to the nation. This government has also failed on foreign policy. China is sitting at our border and efforts are being made to suppress it (incursions),” Singh, who brought economic liberalisation in 1991 as the Union Finance Minister, said.

Singh, 89, called out Prime Minister Narendra Modi for still accusing his predecessor late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for “people’s problems” allegedly ignoring the real issues.

“On one hand, people are facing problems of inflation and unemployment, on the other, the present government, in power for the last seven and a half years, rather than admitting their mistakes and rectifying them, is still blaming first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for people’s problems,” the two-term Prime Minister said.

“I feel that the PM’s position has a special significance. The PM should maintain dignity rather than blame history to downplay faults. When I was Prime Minister for 10 years, I spoke through my work. I never let the country lose prestige before the world. I never undermined India’s pride,” the Congress veteran added.