Not a lameduck PM, says Manmohan Singh

New Delhi, June 29 (PTI) Dismissing talk that he is a
"lameduck" Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh on Wednesday
said he has been entrusted with the job by his party, from
which he has not heard "any contrary view".
Terming the perception that his government had gone
"comatose" and was "lameduck" as a clever propaganda of the
Opposition "to which some sections of the media had lent ear",
Singh asserted that "truth will prevail" and his performance
will speak.
Singh spoke of "maximum possible cooperation" that he
was getting from his Congress party President Sonia Gandhi,
whom he meets one-on-one every week. He had never felt that
she was an "obstacle".
During a 100-minute interaction with five editors at
his official residence, a relaxed Prime Minister confidently
fielded questions on a wide range of issues including the talk
that Rahul Gandhi should take his place, the Lokpal Bill,
corruption and relations with neighbouring countries.
Sonia Gandhi had done a "superb job" as Congress
President for nearly 15 years now, he underlined.
Asked about occasional statements from party
functionaries that Rahul Gandhi should become the Prime
Minister, Singh said the Congress Party and its President had
entrusted him with this job and he had not heard any contrary
view from the Congress high command.
"In fact, the Congress high command has always been
most supportive, particularly Mrs Gandhi," the Prime Minister
said.
He went on to add, "Personally, if you ask me, the
general proposition that younger people should take over, I
think, is the right sentiment". Whenever the party "makes up
its mind I will be very happy to step down, but so long as I
am here I have a job to do".
To a question about a possible reshuffle of his
Cabinet, the Indian Prime Minister said it was a "work in
progress".
Asked if it could take place soon, Singh replied, "I
cannot predict."
About Lokpal Bill, he said it was essential and
desirable. The country needed a strong Lokpal although it is
not not a "panacea".
He told the editors that he would try to find a way on
the Lokpal issue and work for a national consensus. The
government would reach out to the civil society but no group
can insist that their views "A to Z" are the last word.
As for bringing the office of the Prime Minister under
the purview of the Lokpal, the Prime Minister said that he has
no hesitation in bringing himself under it.
However, many of his Cabinet colleagues were of the
view that bringing the institution of the Prime Minister under
Lokpal would create "an element of instability which can go
out of hand".
In any case, the Prime Minister is covered by the
anti-corruption act and is a 24-hour servant of the people, he
said pointing out that a person holding that office can be
removed by Parliament.
Singh said that he would like to be "guided" by
political parties on this issue. Southern Indian-state Tamil
Nadu's Chief Minister J Jayalalitha and her northern Indian
state Punjab's counterpart Prakash Singh Badal had both
expressed their views that this office should be kept
out of Lokpal's purview.
Told about doubts being raised about the stability
of his government, particularly in the light of problems with
DMK, the Indian Prime Minister said, "We have some points of
tension but nobody wants an election."
On dialogue with civil society, he said that the
government should appear to be receptive to what the society
says and he had himself encouraged a dialogue with social
activist Anna Hazare.
With regard to yoga guru Ramdev also, the effort was
not to create unnecessary misunderstanding, he said, adding
that he had earlier written to the yoga guru to share some of
his concerns on blackmoney and corruption.
About the controversy surrounding the decision of
four union ministers to meet Ramdev at New Delhi airport, the
Prime Minister said it was not to "receive" him but the
meeting had been arranged so that it could take place before
he entered Delhi.
Responding to a question about police action against
Ramdev and his followers at Delhi's Ramlila ground in the
middle of the night, Singh said it was unfortunate but he did
not see any alternative.
If action had been taken the next day there would
have been larger crowds, he said.
Asked if Hazare was naive or politically motivated,
the Prime Minister said it was not good to question the
motives of those government is negotiating with.
Asserting that his government was committed to pursuing
whatever was feasible to deal with blackmoney, tax evasion and
corruption, the Indian Prime Minister said it was nevertheless
not a "one-shot operation".
He acknowledged that the telecom scam, the CWG scam and
other perceived cases of corruption had caused genuine concern
to the middle class whom he assured that the guilty would be
punished.
In his opening remarks, the Prime Minister said there
was a growing perception in the media that the government was
under a siege and not able to implement its agenda.
He then went on to hit out at the role of the media for
having become "accuser, prosecutor and the judge". No
parliamentary democracy could function in that manner.
About foreign relations, the Prime Minister said India
lived in a very uncertain neighbourhood and a very uncertain
international economic environment.
On Pakistan, he said that the action taken by it so far
on dealing with terror emanating from its soil was not
satisfactory but India had to keep that country engaged.
He said that terror should never be used as a state
policy. Terror groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were offshoots of ISI.
Asked about the possibility of his visiting Pakistan,
Singh said they were keen about it but there must be something
solid to achieve.
About China, he said that the Indian media should not
sensationalise differences with that country. He had dealt
with the present leadership of President Hu Jintao and Prime
Minister Wen Jiabao whom he regards as men of peace.
At the same time, the Prime Minister said India could
not compromise on the issue of north-eastern state Arunachal
Pradesh to which China lays claim and on river systems.