Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has said history will "remember kindly" former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, citing the Supreme Court’s recent decision to close the coal-block allocation case against him. In a strongly worded article, Gandhi said the court’s ruling had vindicated Singh’s long-standing record of "probity and integrity" after years of what she described as a politically motivated campaign against the former prime minister.
Writing in The Indian Express, Sonia Gandhi described the Supreme Court’s July 29 judgment as an important moment in India’s recent political history. The top court set aside a trial court order that had summoned Manmohan Singh in the coal-block allocation case and upheld the CBI’s closure report, bringing the criminal proceedings against the former prime minister to an end.
Gandhi said the judgment was significant because the case had continued for years despite the absence of sufficient grounds, according to her assessment. She argued that Singh had been subjected to a prolonged “witch-hunt” even though his record in public life was marked by integrity, accountability and personal probity.
Manmohan Singh, who died in December 2024, had famously said in Parliament in 2014 that history would be kinder to him than the contemporary media and Opposition parties. Recalling that statement, Sonia Gandhi said the former prime minister’s prediction was now proving to be correct.
“History will indeed remember him kindly as a quiet, gentle but a most consequential prime minister,” she said.
The remarks came after the Supreme Court on July 29 brought the criminal proceedings against Singh in the coal-block allocation case to a close. The court set aside the trial court’s decision to summon him and upheld the CBI’s closure report in the matter.
Sonia Gandhi said the Supreme Court’s ruling was particularly important because the trial court had previously rejected the closure reports submitted by the investigating agency and had made adverse observations against Singh. She questioned the basis for those observations and argued that the former prime minister had been unfairly targeted despite the lack of what she considered a compelling reason to proceed against him.
Gandhi used the development to launch a broader attack on the Narendra Modi government, alleging that central investigative agencies have increasingly been used to put pressure on political opponents. She specifically accused the government of misusing agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation to target leaders and parties opposed to the BJP.
According to Gandhi, Opposition leaders have faced investigations and pressure that can have the effect of either silencing them politically or encouraging them to move to the BJP. She alleged that the treatment of political leaders changes depending on whether they remain in the Opposition or cross over to the ruling party.
She also accused the government of applying what she described as a selective approach to corruption allegations. Gandhi alleged that politicians facing corruption charges while in the Opposition are subjected to sustained investigations and scrutiny, while similar allegations are treated differently after leaders join the BJP.
Her comments linked the Supreme Court’s ruling in the coal-block case with what she described as a wider pattern in Indian politics, contrasting Singh’s treatment with the Modi government’s handling of investigative agencies and political opponents.
The Supreme Court’s decision has effectively brought to an end the criminal proceedings against Manmohan Singh in the coal-block allocation case, providing fresh political ammunition for the Congress to defend the former prime minister’s record and challenge allegations that had been levelled against his government.
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