In a blistering critique aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lambasted him for diminishing the respect of public discourse and the solemnity of the Prime Ministers office through his hateful speeches during the election campaign. Appealing to Punjab voters before the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1, Singh emphasized that only the Congress can pave the way for a future marked by progressive growth, safeguarding democracy and the Constitution. Furthermore, the veteran Congress leader criticized the BJP government for imposing what he deemed as a ill-conceived Agniveer scheme on the armed forces. "The BJP thinks that the value of patriotism, bravery and service is only four years. This shows their fake nationalism," he said in a letter to voters of Punjab. Mounting an attack on PM Modi, Manmohan Singh added, "I have been keenly following the political discourse during this election campaign. Modi ji has indulged in the most vicious form of hate speeches, which are purely divisive in nature. Modi ji is the first prime minister to lower the dignity of public discourse, and thereby the gravity of the office of the prime minister." "No prime minister in the past has uttered such hateful, unparliamentary and coarse terms, meant to target either a specific section of the society or the opposition. He has also attributed some false statements to me. I have never in my life singled out one community from the other. That is the sole copyright of the BJP," the former prime minister said. Earlier, PM Modi had accused Singh of asserting that Muslims hold the primary claim to the countrys resources. Singh said people of India are seeing through all of this. "This narrative of dehumanisation has now reached its peak. It is now our duty to save our beloved nation from these forces of discord," Singh said in the letter.