28.9.11

We will complete full term : PM



On Board PM’s Special Aircraft: Speaking to reporters on his way back from the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, “Nothing should be done to weaken the self-confidence of the nation.” Asked about the escalation in the opposition’s attack on the 2G scam issue, he said, “The opposition is getting prematurely restless. We have a mandate from the people to govern and the opposition should wait for two-and-a-half years. The opposition feels that they have got hold of some weakness of the government and therefore by focusing attention on that, they can force an early election. It is not going to happen. This government has the mandate for five years and will stay its full course and we will do things which, when you look back, will surprise the country.” Singh fielded questions on an array of issues, including ones like the perceived Mukherjee-Chidambaram feud over a finance ministry document which suggested that Chidambaram, while in charge of the ministry, eventually supported former telecom minister A Raja’s stand not to auction 2G spectrum. He played down the perception of dissension in the government, asserted that India would defy global slowdown to grow at 7-8% and that the scoresheet of UPA-2 at the end of its tenure would surprise people, while acknowledging that his government lacked a good communications strategy. He expressed confidence in both Chidambaram and Mukherjee, saying there was no “dissension” between the two. He said his ministers may have different perspectives on a given issue, but that did not amount to “lack of cohesion” in the government. The PM also indicated that he was not considering a significant reshuffle of the portfolios of his ministers.

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