KOLKATA: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it will be "disastrous for the country" to have Narendra Modi at the helm, veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh Saturday criticised him for his "uncharacteristically sharp" remarks.

"The language which he employed was uncharacteristically sharp. I am saddened by it," Jaswant Singh said on the sidelines of the relaunch of the book "Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim" by Sunanda K. Datta-Ray.

"There is nothing illuminating in what he said and normally prime ministers must not single out chief ministers and subject them to sharp criticism."

In a rare media meet, Manmohan Singh Friday sharply attacked BJP's prime ministerial candidate Modi.

"If by strong prime minister you mean that you preside over the mass massacre of innocent citizens in the streets of Ahmedabad, that is the measure of strength, I do not believe that sort of strength this country needs, least of all in its prime minister," he said.

"Without discussing the merits of Narendra Modi, I sincerely believe that it will be disastrous for the country to have Modi as the PM," Manmohan Singh said.

“The children were taken out of the class and made to sit in another vacant room. The school officials  had also locked the room and kept the kids inside for hours as a punishment,” said Rupa Yadav, the kids’ mother.

Based on her complaint, a case was registered against the principal and vice-principal of the school under Section 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement) of the IPC, Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act. The case is being investigated.

Meanwhile, the school management said that Chandra Mohan Yadav had not paid the school fees for almost a year. In fact, last year’s dues were cleared only recently.

“We have been reminding them (the Yadavs) to pay the due amount. We had also sent a written reminder in the school diary, but the parents did not respond. As the due amount was very big, we told the parents that their children cannot take the examinations if the due was not cleared.

“They were not allowed to take the exams and were only made to sit in an adjacent room. They were not confined or locked-up. There was also an attendant present in the room to take care of the kids. After the exam, the three kids were sent home,” the school management clarified.

According to Laxmina-rayana, sub-inspector of police, Narayanaguda, “The parents alleged that their children were confined in the room, though the school management has denied the allegation. We are checking the facts in the case and will take relevant action based on the findings.”

ET