TNI Bureau: It would be a great opportunity for the BJP to slam Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his alleged involvement in the coal blocks allocation scam after the Washington Post described him as a tragic figure in its recent article.

Congress slammed the American daily newspaper for the publication of the article in which Dr Singh has been described as someone, who helped India for modernisation, prosperity and power, but now is a man of failure in his second term in office.

Amidst the pressure from the Indian government over the publication of the report on Dr Singh and UPA government, the Washington Post said that it will publish the PM’s clarification later on.

However, the US daily refused to apologise to the government for the story titled “India’s silent Prime Minister becomes a tragic figure”.  Simon Denyer, journalist of the newspaper, stood firm on the report. He said that there is nothing to apologise over the issue. He admitted that the article did not mention Dr Singh’s version or statement.

While explaining the fact, he said that he had tried to contact the PMO for an interview in July, but he was denied even though the officials were aware of the story was going to be published.

The daily in its article has appreciated the PM’s role for the development. It admired the PM’s honourable, humble and intellectual image, but also criticised him for the corruption and scandals that have surfaced during his tenure as the PM of India.

The article described PM’s dramatic fall in his second term in office, decline in economy and rampant corruption. It questioned on the idea that the country is going down in history after being recognised as a global power.