PM should be given a fair chance on reforms: Azim Premji

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IT czar and Wipro chief Azim Premji, who had recently said India was functioning without a leader, on Tuesday wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be given a fair chance for rolling-out reforms.

Premji's observations come on the heels of Tata group chairman Ratan Tata stating it was unfair to single out Singh for the country's current economic woes.

"Frankly, it is difficult to say how it (reform process) is going to roll out. Manmohan Singh certainly has taken over the finance portfolio in addition to his responsibilities as the Prime Minister. So, let us be optimistic on that and give him a fair chance on it," Premji said at Wipro press conference here.

He said more than policy initiatives, the government should systematically execute on issues, which are part of the existing policy.

"The government should focus on large areas that need to be executed or decided upon, be it on infrastructure projects or government projects, which are on stream and which need to be accelerated. Only that is going to happen because it is the key responsibility of the... (government)," Premji said.

Tata had last week tweeted that it was wrong and ‘grossly misdirected to single out and blame the Prime Minister (for the country's economic problems)’.

Throwing his weight behind Singh, he had said: "It is sad and unfortunate that in the past few months the Opposition, the media, some private citizens and even some members of the ruling party have mercilessly spoken and written about our Prime Minister – a person who was the architect of the '91 reforms, which brought economic prosperity and international recognition to our country."

Last month Premji had said: "..We are working without a leader as a country. If we do not change, we would be down for years".