PM Manmohan Singh's tenure a wasted opportunity: BJP

He said the low point in the PM's tenure was the "bribing" of MPs in order to endorse the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Taking a dig at the Prime Minister for his remarks that history will take a kinder look at him and that time will tell about the performance of his government, Jaitley said, "In a democracy, time does not tell, voters tell and tell most emphatically"

"What they are likely to tell us is bad news for the Congress party and bad news primarily against Manmohan Singh Government".

The BJP leader said the Prime Minister's press meet was intended to announce his own farewell and was a formality but it turned out to be a "farce" because of the remarks he made on various issues.

"Instead of striking an introspective note at the farewell meet, the Prime Minister appeared bitter-- slight bitter about the media and more so about the opposition and really more aginst Modi", he said.

Dubbing the ten-year rule of Manmohan Singh as "a wasted opportunity", he said that the view of history is also "not going to be flattering".

"Obviously, the comparative quality of leadership in the principal fronts" will be debated in the polls, he said when asked whether the coming Lok Sabha elections will witness a Modi vs Rahul Gandhi contest after Manmohan Singh opting out of the race today.