The Congress will protect the autonomy of various institutes of excellence, including the Indian Institutes of Management, if voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha elections, former finance minister and senior party leader Manmohan Singh said in Ahmedabad.

"We strongly criticise the stands taken by the central government on the IIM autonomy issue," Singh told reporters.

Singh said the National Democratic Alliance government should respect the autonomy of all national educational institutions and the Congress party was committed to preserve the autonomy of IIMs.