'Not just accidental Prime Minister but Finance Minister too' says, Manmohan Singh

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday responded on a spree of him being called an 'accidental prime minister' of India on which he said, he also was the country's "accidental 'finance minister".

"I have been termed as an accidental prime minister of the country, but I think that I was also an accidental finance minister," he said after the launch of his book 'Changing India' in Delhi.

The former PM went to attack his succeeder Narendra Modi and added that while he was criticised for being a "silent" prime minister, he never shied away from speaking to the press.

"People say I was a silent prime minister, but I think these volumes (his book Changing India) speak for themselves. I was not the prime minister who was afraid of talking to the press. I met the press regularly. In every foreign tour, I had press conferences in the plane or after landing," he said.

Manmohan Singh also said that when he was the finance minister in 1991, he was successful in helping turn a crisis into a "great opportunity."

"Life has been a great adventure and an enterprise, which I relish. I have no regrets. I will never be able to return what my country gave me. Some part of life has been smooth sailing and there were some hiccups," he noted.

"This country is destined to be a major power. The thrust of India's economic policy has not changed for the last 25 years," he added.

Also reead: Former PM Manmohan Singh takes jibe at PM Modi, says, 'I wasn't afraid of talking to press'