Compiled from dispatches
On board PM’s Special Aircraft, May 31

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday indicated that a Cabinet reshuffle could be on the cards and also rejected all speculation of a rift between him and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“There are some vacancies. The issue of filling them up is being considered,” Dr Singh said in response to a question on whether he was contemplating a Cabinet reshuffle in view of the vacancies created by the resignations of Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal as Union railway minister and Mr Ashwani Kumar as Union law minister. Their portfolios are being held as additional charges by road and highways minister C.P. Joshi and communications minister Kapil Sibal, respectively. Besides, there are a number of other ministers holding more than one portfolio.
The PM also took on the Opposition for being “obstructionist” in Parliament. It has become more “impatient” than ever before and doubly disappointed by the UPA’s victory in the last two Lok Sabha elections, he observed while talking to reporters on board Air India One on his way back from a five-day visit to Japan and Thailand,
Asked whether the government was planning to reach out to the Left or Ms Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress for UPA-3, Dr Singh said, “Well, in politics there are no permanent allies and no permanent enemies.
These possibilities, some people coming in, some people going out, they have to be accepted as they are.”
Dr Singh kept up the suspense when asked whether he aspired to a third term in office if the UPA came to power after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “When I filed my nomination papers, I had clearly stated that it has been my great privilege to represent Assam in the Rajya Sabha since 1991 and the people of Assam have given me yet another opportunity to serve them,” he said.
Making a fresh appeal to the political parties to help the government clear important legislation in Parliament, he said, “It is unfortunate that the Opposition has become more impatient than ever before. They never expected that we would win the election for UPA-1 and were doubly disappointed when we won the election for UPA-2. Therefore, the obstructionist role of the Opposition has increased enormously in recent years, which is my great regret that some very essential business of the House has not been transacted because of these animosities of the Opposition against the government,” he said when asked about his three biggest regrets over nine years in office. The government, he said, would make all possible efforts to ensure that essential business is conducted smoothly.
The PM rejected outright all speculation of a rift. “In all truthfulness, there is no difference of opinion between me and the Congress president,” he told reporters. “We work together on almost every issue and where consultations are needed, I consult the Congress president,” he said in response to a question. “This perception that on certain issues there were differences of opinion, there is no truth in that,” he said.
He was also asked whether Mrs Gandhi had nudged him against his wishes to get the resignation of Mr Ashwani Kumar as law minister and whether he faced a tough situation when CBI director Ranjit Sinha named a joint secretary in the PMO as having made changes to the agency’s affidavit to the Supreme Court on Coalgate, but the PM did not spell out his response to this.
The PM said he would not like to “pre-judge” whether the Congress would extend support to former UPA ally DMK’s candidate in the coming Rajya Sabha election in Tamil Nadu. “I can’t say on behalf of the Congress high command. These are matters which are discussed at the highest level in our party. It will not be proper for me to pre-judge what stand the Congress party will take,” he said when asked whether the Congress would consent if the DMK approached it for the support of five Congress MLAs. Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK president M. Karunanidhi, is likely to be the party candidate. The DMK does not have enough MLAs to get her elected after her current term expires shortly.