DHAKA: India’s Manmohan Singh defended his decade-long record on Saturday as he resigned as prime minister a day after Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a historic election victory.

The 81-year-old premier’s final years in power were marked by slowing economic growth as his government struggled to overcome charges of weak leadership and corruption.

After making a final televised address to the nation in the morning, India’s third-longest serving PM was driven to the presidency building in central New Delhi, where he tendered his resignation to president Pranab Mukherjee.

‘Today India is a far stronger country than it was a decade ago,’ he said in a short and typically low-key speech, wearing his trademark blue turban, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1722 HRS, MAY 17, 2014