A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words.

A 54-year-old picture taken at the prestigious Delhi School of Economics proves the adage.

In 1969, when the picture was clicked, Manmohan Singh was a professor teaching at the institution. Vinod Rai was one of his students.

Former West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra posted this picture on X and explained how Rai’s reports tainted the Manmohan Singh Government’s image.

Singh became India’s 14th Prime Minister in May 2004. Rai took over as the Comptroller and Auditor General in January 2008. 

Incidentally, it was during Rai’s tenure that the CAG brought out several reports on the alleged scams during the UPA-II regime. Of them, the 2G spectrum allocation and coal scams rocked the UPA II government.

After posting the 54-year-old picture on X, Amit Mitra talks about Manmohan Singh, Vinod Rai, and the CAG reports.

“We, as students of Dr Manmohan Singh, will deeply miss his warmth & affection. The photo below, at Delhi School of Econ (1969), demonstrates Dr Singh’s humility. While Professors were seated in chairs, he quietly came & stood among students. (Circles : Prof Amartya Sen, Dr Singh – I was there as outgoing President of Fraternity),” Mitra wrote on X.

“Ironically, standing next to Dr Singh on his left was Vinod Rai. Over 40 years later, Vinod’s Report, as CAG of India, created a storm against Dr Singh & his Govt, (2G & Coal ‘scams’), contributing to its downfall & the ascendency of Shri Narendra Modi in 2014,” he said.

“But in 2015, the Supreme Court stayed the prosecution of Singh on the coal matter, saying that there was “not a whiff, let alone an allegation of quid pro quo..”. It was too late !!

In 2017, the CBI Court dismissed the charges on 2G, saying, “some people created a scam by artfully arranging a few selected facts. “ Too late!

In 2021, Vinod apologised unconditionally in Court on a related matter. At that point, the opposition called Vinod’s Report of 2012 a conspiracy to oust Dr Singh’s Govt. Too late !!” said Mitra.

“A 54 year old picture (that Vinod had kindly sent me some years ago!) is worth a 1000 words…May Dr Singh’s noble soul rest in peace,” he added.