Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Friday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is the “power centre in governance” and “for political matters it is, of course, Mrs Sonia Gandhi”.
Mr Singh, a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, is an AICC general secretary. His remarks on the controversy over “power centres” come as the UPA-2 government completes four years on May 22. “There has to be one power centre and here the power centre is Dr Manmohan Singh in governance. And for political matters it is, of course, Mrs Sonia Gandhi,” Mr Singh told NDTV.
“Both are working separately in their own domain, Dr Manmohan Singh takes all decisions in the government of India, and Mrs Sonia Gandhi takes all decisions in the organisation,” he added.
Seeking to explain the context of his earlier remarks, which had triggered a controversy, Mr Singh said because of the media hype and Opposition’s allegations there is a general perception among the bureaucracy and in other forms of government that there are dual power centres. “This is a perception created by the media — that there are dual power centres, a perception created by the Opposition. Frankly the Congress president has never interfered in the functioning of the government, not once,” he said.