BJP resurrects 12-yr-old PMO post when Manmohan Singh said 'happy to work under Rahul Gandhi's leadership'

New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) Invoking a 12-year-old social media post by then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the BJP took a swipe at the Congress on Sunday for what it hinted at as the party's interference in governance and alleged misuse of PMO’s official resources by the UPA government for organisational matters.

Tagging Dr Singh’s post, BJP leader Amit Malviya, in a post on X, drew a parallel between the clarity and strong decision-making in the PMO under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the situation in the PMO during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by Dr Singh.

“This is the difference between then and now,” said Malviya, in charge of the BJP’s National Information and Technology Department.

Malviya said, “12 years ago, the condition of our country was such that even the official handle of the Prime Minister’s Office was forced to post things that exposed the Congress led UPA’s failures and the confusion within.”

The September 7, 2013, social media post by Manmohan Singh had said, “I would be happy to work for the Congress party under the leadership of Mr Rahul Gandhi – PM.”

The BJP IT Department head sought to highlight the irony behind a head of the government being allegedly subservient to the top leader of the ruling Congress, saying, “Think about it — if the PMO itself had to put out such messages, what must have been the ground reality then?”

Malviya’s post came on a day when PM Modi joined BJP MPs at a workshop, in the Parliament complex, aimed to hone political communication, legislative skills and governance strategies.

The BJP's Parliament Workshop, in which PM Modi occupied a seat in the last row, also encouraged deliberations on ways to forward the Centre's development agenda while countering the Opposition.

Following the conclusion of the two-day workshop on Monday, the BJP MPs will join PM Modi for a dinner meeting on Monday.

The workshop comes ahead of the Vice-Presidential election on September 9. The new Vice President will be picked by an electoral college comprising 788 voters, which includes 543 members from the Lok Sabha, 233 from the Rajya Sabha, and 12 nominated members.

The NDA has nominated Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan as its candidate, while the INDIA bloc has fielded former Supreme Court Judge B. Sudershan Reddy.

--IANS

rch/dpb