Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Tuesday contended that the BJP owes an apology to late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following his acquittal by the Supreme Court in the coal block allocation scam.

Satheesan, in an X post, said that the apex court's July 29 verdict showed that Singh's integrity was never in doubt.

The CM's remarks were made while referring to an article by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in a national daily titled, 'History will indeed remember Dr Manmohan Singh kindly'.

Satheesan, in his post, said that for years there was a sustained campaign of slander against Singh to bury his governance record.

"For years, a manufactured scandal and a sustained campaign of slander, including that unworthy 'raincoat' jibe on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, were used to bury a governance record that gave India the RTI Act, MGNREGA, the National Food Security Act, the Forest Rights Act and the Right to Education".

"Sonia Gandhi ji's article in The Indian Express today makes this case with clarity and dignity, and it deserves to be read in full," he said on X.

He further said that history will remember Singh as a quiet and gentle man, who was one of "the most consequential Prime Ministers this republic has had".

"The BJP owes him an apology," Satheesan added.