Manmohan Singh was no free market ideologue: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Manmohan Singh was not a free-market ideologue but a reformer guided by pragmatism, integrity, and faith in the state's developmental role, says Ahluwalia

Former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not a “free market ideologue” but a leader who balanced growth with equity, combining economic reform with deep personal integrity and a belief in the state’s developmental role. 

Delivering a lecture on “The Life and Legacy of Dr Manmohan Singh”, organised by the Prime Ministers Museum and Library as part of its Prime Ministers Lecture Series, Ahluwalia recalled Singh as “both a mentor and a role model”.

 

Ahluwalia said while Singh’s economic vision liberalised India’s economy, his approach was grounded in pragmatism rather