"There is no need for Manmohan to give certificates for his honesty. Manmohan Singh government has done much for the poor masses. BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] is blaming him, first let BJP leaders see their faces in the mirror," Oscar Fernandes told Sputnik.
Earlier on Wednesday, Singh was summoned to court on accusations of criminal conspiracy and breach of trust. The former prime minister was allegedly involved in the unlawful awarding of a coal field in eastern India to Hindalco, an Indian aluminum manufacturer, in 2005.
Singh was overseeing the Coal Ministry at the time of the deal, something BJP claims meant he was aware of the scam. Singh has repeatedly stated that approval for the coal field allocation followed due process.
Five others, including former Coal Secretary P C Parakh and chairman of the conglomerate that owns Hindalco, Kumar Mangalam Birla, were also summed by the court on the same charges.
In 2012, an auditor said that Singh's government sold some 200 coal fields leases to private enterprises at artificially low prices. The government reportedly lost over $30 billion due to the scam.
Singh, an economist, implemented free-market reforms as finance minister in India in the 1990s, averting an economic crisis in the country. He served as prime minister from 2004-2014 and played a prominent role in managing the 2008 financial crisis. His government is also credited with opening schools and bringing healthcare to rural parts of India.
