Manmohan Singh countered BJP barbs with sharp repartees, couplets or stoic silence
Manmohan Singh chose a stoic silence towards attacks on him from the principal Opposition on most occasions but when he chose to counter some of the senior opponents it would be through short and sharp rebuttals. Known for choosing his words carefully and believing in brevity, Singh did surprise everybody with an Urdu couplet that disarmed the opposition.
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Not one to engage in oratory outside Parliament, Singh faced barbs from the Opposition mostly in the two Houses during debates. He would often attend the Question Hour in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the days the PM is expected to be present and at times he would make a concise clarificatory remark on some important issue to set the matter at rest.
Veteran BJP leader LK Advani, who was his party’s PM candidate against Singh in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, made several scathing remarks against him during and after the election campaign but the prime minister chose to ignore them on most occasions. Advani had invited Singh to have a debate with him during the 2009 polls but got no response.
BJP would often allege that Singh is occupying the chair of prime minister but the real powers lie with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi but this did not faze him. Sharing details of how he became finance minister in 1991, Singh
