Interaction: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's Press Conference on Jan 3, 2014

• published: 03 Jan 2014
• views: 1762

Full Video of Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Interaction with the Media. Q. Ajay Kaul: After assembly election, much churning is going on within Congress. Will there be a change of guard? PM: Congress president has already answered that question. We will announce a Prime Ministerial candidate at the appropriate time. Q. Pankaj Pandey: Congrats on 2 terms. There have been repeated allegations of corruption in UPA 1 and 2 PM: as far as charges of corruption are concerned, most of them are concerned with the period of UPA 1 . Coal block allocation as well as 2G spectrum allocation were during UPA 1. We went to the electorate with our performance and people of India gave us a mandate for another term. These allegations were raised by the media, sometime by the CAG. We must remember that these did not pertain to UPA 1 Q. Rajeev Deshpande: Allegations of corruption. PM: Well I feel somewhat sad because I was the one who insisted that spectrum allocations should be transparent, fair and equitable. I was the one who insisted that coal blocks be allocated through auctions. This has been forgotten. Opposition has vested interests. Media plays these things up. When the the history of this period is written, we will come out unscathed. I do not say there were no irregularities. But these were exaggerated by the media, by the CAG. Q. Pallavi Ghosh: You rule yourself for third term, Will Rahul Gandhi be the PM candidate? PM: Well, I have indicated in my opening remarks that I am not going to be a candidate for Prime Ministership if UPA comes to power. Rahul Gandhi has outstanding credentials to be nominated as the presidential (prime ministerial) candidate. Q. Zee News: contest between Modi and Rahul Gandhi? PM: I have full confidence that the next prime minister will be from the UPA coalition. Without discussing the merits of Narendra Modi, i feel it will be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as the prime minister. Q. Maneesh Chibber: BJP and Modi's charge is that you have been a weak PM, d PM: Well I do not believe I have been a weak PM. the bjp and its associates might say whatever they like but if by strong leadership they mean you preside over the mass massacre on the streets of Ahmedabad, I do not belive that this is strong leadership. Q. You gave yourselve 7/10 in 2005, how would you rate yourself on a scale of 10? PM: it is for you people to check me. I feel we have done reasonably well. The growth has been taken forward despite international crisis, eurozone crisis, what has happened in Brazil, South Africa. I dont think our experience can be called not successful. Q. Saba Naqvi: Arvind Kejriwal PM: Well people of India have reposed confidence in AAP party in Delhi. Time will tell if this experience is capable of delivering. It is only one week. Let us give them time Q: Venkat: Sri Lankan Tamil issue, TN Fishermen PM: Well it is not true that we are not concerned about the well-being of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. We have urged the SL government to address genuine aspirations of the people of Sri Lanka...There is now an opportunity of government of Tamil Sri Lanka and government of TN can work out an arrangment for fishermen. Q. Liz Mathew: best and lowest moment PM: I will need time to reflect on this. Best moment was when we werew able to strike nuclear deal with US, which ended our nuclear apartheid and use nuclear power for the country's progress. Q. Aam Aadmi, Kejriwal? PM: Corruption is an issue and certainly AAP has been able to make a success of their emphasis on corruption. Time will tell how well they do. Dealing with corruption is not an easy issue. We must grapple with the task of dealing with corruption. This is not a task that one party can accomplish. Various parties have to come together to tackle this monster. Q. Kerala: Kasthurirangan report, LPG prices PM: Well as far as the Kasturirangan report is concerned, it is still in the phase fo being discussed with state governments. As far as increasing the cylinders, no decision has been taken. Q. Sanjay Mishra Amar Ujala: Sikh riots PM: Well if you are talking about the Sikhs who suffered in the 1984 riots, our government has done a lot. I used the opportunity of a discussion in Parliament, to apologise for what had happened. We provided compensation, even though no compensation is enough for such loss and suffering. Q: Industry criticism PM: There were domestic factors. but more important was the role of international factors. First global slowdown of 2008-09, then the Eurozone crisis. Q. Growth momentum. price rise. PM: We will certainly make every effort. Our vice-president Rahul Gandhi convened a meeting of CMs of Congress states to discuss means to check price rise Q. Will Modi's dream of a Congress-Mukt Bharat be fulfilled? PM: I sincerely believe that what Mr Narendra Modi is saying is not going to materialise.