Ratlam (MP): While addressing a rally at Ratlam in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, BJP national president Amit Shah accused former prime minister Manmohan Singh of reading speeches scripted by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi during his visits abroad.

He was responding to the frequent criticisms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his many foreign visits. Taking a dig at former PM Singh, Shah defended PM Modi saying that “Mauni Baba Manmohan Singhji” had made more trips abroad.

He further mocked the former PM, alleging that he would carry papers given by “Madam” during his foreign trips and read out from them. “He would sometimes read the page meant for Malaysia in Thailand,” Shah said.

Speaking about the admiration received by PM Modi during his foreign trips, Shah said that the slogans and admiration are “not for Modi or the BJP, but out of respect for 125 crore Indians.”

Shah was in the state on Saturday, ahead of the state Assembly polls to be held on November 28, to launch the BJP’s mass-contact campaign.