Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared here on Monday that he was in no hurry to retire as had a lot of unfinished tasks to complete, but offered at the same time to make way for a younger leader if that was what the Congress Party wanted.

Addressing a 75-minute-long press conference at Vigyan Bhavan here, his first since taking the oath of office for the second time a year ago, the Prime Minister said: “Mujhe kaam saunpa gaaya hai. Yeh kaam abhi adhura hai (I have been entrusted with work, and it is still incomplete).” He added: “There is no question of my retirement.”
But then he went on: “Let me say that I sometimes feel that younger people should take over... As and when the Congress Party makes that judgment, I will be happy to make place for anybody the Congress decides.” This was in response to a couple of questions about Rahul Gandhi.
When asked if and when Rahul Gandhi would be joining his government, Dr Singh said: “He is very qualified to hold a Cabinet post. I have discussed with him a number of occasions... though I don’t remember exactly the date when I discussed with him last... He has always been reluctant to give a positive answer (on joining the
Cabinet), telling me that he has things to do to strengthen the Congress.”
Dr Singh also strongly scotched suggestions that a “lack of trust” had built up of late between him and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, or that there was any disconnect between what the party wanted and the government’s actions. “There’s not an iota of truth that there is a lack of trust between me and the Congress president,” he declared. Asked if the National Advisory Council headed by Mrs Gandhi, recently revived, might act like a “super Cabinet”, Dr Singh responded: “It is not a super Cabinet. It is an advisory body.” He also noted that the NAC had earlier “made a very effective contribution to pushing forward the programmes of social development”.
The Prime Minister spoke on a wide variety of subjects raised by the media, ranging from the Naxal insurgency, relations with Pakistan, rising prices, terrorism, the caste factor in the census, the outspokenness of certain ministers and the controversy surrounding the telecom minister on 2G spectrum allocation, sitting by himself on the vast Vigyan Bhavan stage.
Asked more than once about Pakistan and the “trust deficit” between the two neighbours, Dr Singh said: “Pakistan is our neighbour. It is my firm belief that India cannot realise its full development potential until it has the best possible relations with our neighbours. My effort is to try and reduce the gap between our countries... There have been problems ... (and) the trust deficit is the biggest problem.”
Asked about his expectations from Pakistan to reduce this “trust deficit” and on when the two countries could resume a formal dialogue, he said: “We’re going to make a beginning... The process has not moved forward (since 26/11), and I’m hopeful that this process can move forward.” He also said later it was India’s “obligation to make every effort” to normalise relations with its neighbours.
On his coming visit to Srinagar next month, Dr Singh said he would like to discuss with the Jammu and Kashmir government what more could be done to help the state’s development. He took the opportunity to appeal to all groups outside the political mainstream to shed violence.
When asked about some of his own Cabinet colleagues freely airing differing views on major issues, the Prime Minister was swift to express his displeasure. “It is not good that ministers should air their views in public... The right thing to do is (to air) their views in the Cabinet.”
Asked about the 2G spectrum allocation controversy surrounding telecom minister A. Raja, Dr Singh said action would be taken in case corruption could be proved “at any level”.
On the spate of Maoist attacks across the country, the Prime Minister pointed out that he had been warning about the danger posed by Naxalism for the past three years. “It has emerged as the biggest internal security challenge the country faces,” he said.
Asked about the expression “limited mandate” used recently by home minister P. Chidambaram in this context, Dr Singh said the home minister had already explained what he meant. The Prime Minister noted that while law and order was a responsibility of the states, fighting Naxalism required full cooperation between the Centre and the states.
On terrorism, the PM said it must be tackled regardless of its links to any religion. “Terrorism has no religion. Terrorism sponsored by particular religious elements has to be dealt with effectively, purposefully,” he said.
On the contentious issue of caste in the national census, the PM said he had already made a statement in Parliament on the subject. The matter would be discussed within the Cabinet, and whatever decision was taken would be communicated to the people.
Asked if he was hopeful of the Nuclear Liability Bill being passed by Parliament, Dr Singh said he had “no doubt that it would move forward”.
Responding to a question about the creation of new states, the PM said there was “no agreement as of now” on this, while the demand for carving out a Telangana state had been referred to a committee.
When asked about the hanging of Parliament-attack convict Afzal Guru, Dr Singh said the law should be allowed to take its course. On 26/11 terror-attack accused David Headley, Dr Singh said the “highest authorities” in the United States had assured him that India would get access to Headley soon.
When asked if he missed the Left parties’ “structured support” during the UPA’s first term, the Prime Minister’s reply came pat: “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” He went on to add that he would welcome the support of “like-minded parties” who supported the government’s “inclusive growth” policies.
Asked to rate his government’s performance, Dr Singh said it would not be “uchit (proper)” for him to give an assessment: this was something that the people of the country and the media could do. He added, however, that he felt that the UPA-2 government’s first-year record was one of “reasonable achievement”, though there is “always room for improvement”. Said the Prime Minister: “I am reasonably satisfied... but I could do better than what I have done.”