Hindustan Times
PM tries to correct his image
Though the Prime Minister did not reply to a journalist’s query of why he had convened his press meet for the electronic media editors, it was very obvious that it was a feeble attempt to correct his image, which during the past few months has taken a beating.
And in doing so, Dr Manmohan Singh tried to distance himself from the various scams that have hit his government and made it abundantly clear once again that he was in mood to quit and will like to serve the rest of his five year term. But at the end of it, he emerged as a man not in control, helpless and compromised due to compulsions of coalition politics and someone who was trying to survive despite being surrounded by corrupt and inefficient ministers.
An image, which was badly dented. Here was a man whose strongest asset was his integrity but who during his six and half years in power had been badly bruised and wounded by political machinations of his own party as well as those of the opposition. But he also showed signs of his combativeness in conveying directly or indirectly his views to his party and other political groups as he also introduced some new facts regarding some ongoing controversies.
A Prime Minister whose resolve to continue was exceptionally strong and who had decided to bear the scars on his body when he faced his opponents and supporters up front. A PM who had little say in the recently held Cabinet rejig but was adamant of having his way in the one he proposed after the budget session. Many wondered whether there would be any reshuffle at all.
Unlike previous occasions, Singh sounded a bit defensive and looked nervous. He rarely smiled and faltered frequently as he took on questions from the representatives of some of the top TV Channels. His objective seemed clear that he first of all wanted to absolve himself of all blame regarding the scandals, particularly the 2G-spectrum scam which has dominated headlines.
He gave an elaborate explanation why he did not overrule his minister A Raja and that the Telecom Ministry, TRAI, the Finance Ministry and some leading Telecom experts were on the same page as Raja on the 2G issue. When all of them had one view, what could he have done especially after Raja had assured him that the process was going to be transparent.
What was significant was that the Prime Minister, for the first time since the 2G scam broke out, also named the Finance Ministry of being in agreement with the then Telecom Minister. The role of the Finance Ministry has so far not been discussed in relation to this scam.
On the reason why he re-appointed Raja as his Telecom Minister after the 2009 polls, he put the blame on the requirements of coalition politics.
Manmohan Singh’s assertion that he was willing to appear before any committee of Parliament including the JPC and PAC probably indicated that the decision not to constitute a JPC was not at his behest. He said that a very senior BJP leader headed the PAC and he had volunteered to appear before it.
However, he was not going to shy away from facing the JPC is that was constituted. His detailed observations pointed out that the decision not to have a JPC was not his and that of someone else. The suggestion was very evident.
Manmohan Singh made an admission that he had had to make many compromises and he was not happy with the way these scams had been unearthed. But at the same time, he considered the projected growth rate of 8.5 percent despite adverse economic climate as a big achievement and he would want to curb inflation without hurting the growth momentum.
The Prime Minister had repeated digs at the BJP and without elaborating it hinted that a possible reason why Parliament did not function during the monsoon was because the government refused to revoke the criminal proceedings against a Gujarat minister. He said that opposition should not have held up the proceedings of Parliament.
The PM did not touch on India’s relations with China and Pakistan and merely welcomed in very general terms that his government supported any initiative for bringing in democracy in the ushering in of a democratic set up in any country.
One more reason why he decided to hold the press meet was that he is still not sure whether the BJP and the opposition will allow Parliament to function. Before that happens, he wanted to have his say. Otherwise the press meet was avoidable. The excuse that he wanted to meet TV journalists since he had in September met the print journalists was not too strong. The print journalists felt left out and probably unhappy too. The crisis of credibility as it exists today did not exist in September. And there was no reason to antagonize a section of press. Bad strategy.
I have watched many top leaders from Indira Gandhi to Jagjiwan Ram, Y.B.Chavan to Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, Chandashekhar, V.P.Singh, P.V.Narasimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayee and L.K.Advani besides Sonia Gandhi from very close quarters.
Manmohan Singh is not a traditional stereotype politician. But someone who knows which side his bread is buttered and also is conscious of his strengths despite his numerous weaknesses. He is in no mood to give up is what he has told his party and challenged his opponents to oust him. Manmohan Singh may have been battered and bruised by the scams but he is not over. Not as yet.
(24 votes, average: 2.21 out of 5)
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PM knows well about the corrupt system and society of india as well as political system.of the country.So he has developed his own style of functioning keeping the pace of growth of nation side by side of the corrupt practices.What Indira Gandhi had faced the oppostion from movement of Jayprakash Narayan .Prabably PM MMS is going toovercome that similar situation. BJP is itself is corrupt Bonia party it will not be able to creat that movement.
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PM if he feels helpless and not having any control over selection of ministers should atleast quit his post. In this country of 120 crores people we can certainly find a person more capable than him with equal integrity.
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Goindgovindarajan Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
HONEST R NOT EXEMPT from harrassment. dharma or upright attitude has no differrent angles, it has only one angle. all employees are payong income taxes from the taxable income. if so why a very low ceiling is applied when the prices are skyrocketting like rice, kerosenr,petrol,onions. is commonman unaffected. is dmms not aware of this? if not why commontaxpayers monies are doomed and eatenaway by scammers. cleanliness and honesty should start from top , politician onwards to bottom commoner. if it is so hhinest why all these mounting scams kept pending from decades, say bofors, arshad mehhta, bank scam, cement scam by m politicians,adarsh scam, fodder scam,
fake notes, 2g spectrum scam, isro scam. is the tax payer money not involved. again airindia land mafia scam, are all these known prettywell to dmms and group of mantris and cabinet. if suc tings occur in other countries, harsh treatments like met to bhakta ramados are given. now wy a silence wen parliament is attacked and several police officers were met to to join majority. see mehbaba mukti is making the sacrifices of armed forces to defend the nation as useless chorused by omar abdulla. neru was better because immediately then shaik abdulla government was dismissed and e was exiled in ootakmund. again divide and rule of congress is amused. class I officers are given 4 per cent increment and class 2 to 4are given 3 per cent ina highly developed infrastructure where everything is spent free on iasandifs officers. another hypocracy of dmms and is upa cavinet is a liberal french leave of 24 months to woman employees to vread their children less tan 18 years. even well advanced countries r not offerring this french leave. bu same dmms grand father did not bless grand fathers leave for at;east 1 year. here itself gender bias on males is started. so divide and rule is coalition dharma and no better dharma.
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V.K.CHAWLA Reply:
February 18th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
ACTUALLY THE MANNU BHAI HAS A PROBLEM AS HE IS DEBARRED FROM RESIGNING . HE IS WARMING THE SEAT OF PM FOR SOMEBODY TILL HE BECOMES AN ADULT . ACTUALLY THE PERSON IS STILL A ' BACCHHA ' & IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO BECOME ELLIGIBLE FOR THE POST , THE POST WHICH CONGRESS PARTY HAS CONTRACTED TO ONLY ONE FAMILY .
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He has admitted his incompetence in the interview. Shameless fellow – says he wont resign despite admitting to being incompetent!
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Did he say?
a) 100 days and food prices would be down
b) 100 days CWG culprits would be brought to book
Is he bothered?
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PG Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 2:49 am
Also,
c) 100 days and he will bring black money back in India.
When is the first day of those 100 days?
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An image cannot be transformed with words but with actions. By not taking action against Karunanidhi who had specially demanded Telecom Ministry and A Raja as telecom minister and both Sonia and MMS succumbed to DMK pressure. Congress is still trying to save its govt. than acting against culprits of 2G scam. Congress itself is engulfed in CWG scam and therefore, has got a strong beating to its image in public. Congress has done irreparable damage to its image and it cannot improve till it makes for the revenue lost and desist itself from the people who caused 2G spectrum scam.
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I agree.The sole / main purpose of the press meet the PM had today, was to clear his name from all the scams his govt is being blamed for. It was also perhaps an attempt to seek media support for the upcoming Budget Session, when Opposition is likely to play spoil-sport once again, unless govt relents to their demand for a JPC probe into the 2G scam. As they say, the media often reflects the mood of the people, and media's support could strengthen govt's resolve against the Oppositions' onslaught against it on various front.
Sadly, the opening remarks by the PM, blaming the media for giving him and his govt a bad image, set the tone for the press meet today. Had the PM praised their role in being the conscience-keepers of the govt for the society at large, it would have perhaps been appreciated much more by the media.
Moreover, during the entire session today, the PM didn't really say anything new. When he did try to give a new reasoning, like comparing the subsidies to farmers with the 'subsidized' spectrum allocation in 2G, it defied all logic and reasoning. It also exposed the PM's position as a stooge of the party (more specifically its overbearing High Command), as he himself expressed helplessness on charges of corruption, inflation, etc. Therefore, instead of consolidating his position, which was the intention of the press meet, he ended up proving his critics right when they say that he's the weakest PM India has had so far.
If the PM indeed wishes to 'clear his name' and retain his 'clean image' the best option for him would be to quit the high office he occupies, rather than continue to play second-fiddle to an extra-constitutional authority who seems to dictate his every move.
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The excuse that parliament did not function during monsoon session because governm-
-ent refused to revoke criminal proceeding of Gujarat minister is Lame,fabricated,dishon
est and intented to mislead people from his factual incompetency.The clear motive of congress rule is to malign Gujarat government and BJP party and sure to be defeated
SHAME. Bye.
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TK Reply:
February 17th, 2011 at 3:47 am
Oh wow….I just wrote in support of PM and my comment got deleted
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V.K.CHAWLA Reply:
February 18th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
I WONDER WHY THERE ARE STOOGES , MINIONS , BOOTLICKERS STILL IN THIS COUNTRY . ARE THEY NOT SATISFIED THE DESTRUCTION DONE BY THIS CONGRESSI CULTURE FOR SO LONG . MANNU BHAI's MINISTERS OPENLY & DEFIANTLY LOOTING OUR HARD EARNED MONEY , PAID IN TAXES BY FORCED BY OUR ARM TWISTING . THEY ARE UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING WORTHWHILE BUT STILL ARE MANY MANY PEOPLE SINGING PEANES TO CONGRESS HIEARCHY BLINDFOLDED .
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THis Pm is member of all India anti national congress owned and operated by sonia gandhi and family, he is just a humble bonded labourer of them, He is as anti national and criminal as others from his party. When this much is done he still wants to strict to the P M post that shows he is money hungry and power hungry, He should be removed at the earliest
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Mannu Bhai's press conference was really bizzare , to see . He was simply ridiculous .His voice was quivering many a times but also unable to convince with his answers. To many queries , he was lacking in convictions . Why he held press conference , which remained unanswered . The intervener was brash many a times as was clear when Times Now's Arnab asked a query .
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PM should have taken a firm stand some time back. There is a certain expectancy from the people of India regarding what PM decides.
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What restoration of his image?The guy has accepted his incompetence and that allowing loot is mandatory to run a Coalition.Does this country need such a PM and Government.By comparing Food Subsidy with Spectrum was disgusting and shows the level this dumb joker will go to defend himself.Was the sale of spectrum alloted not sold for 6 times that was paid as fees a loss.What image restoration he has lost what little credibility he enjoyed as a man who put the nation on a path of 8% growth.
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His helplessness clearly showed that he is a poor puppet.He even was kicked and forced by madam Roma mata to go for this press conference to clear the air which he unsuccessfully did
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Sk Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
he is really a shameless,greedy and corrupt slave of roma mata
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i think it was great of our prime minister to answer all the questions that have thrown at him in the meeting.what people did not ask he did not answer.i dont recall a single press conference of our great prime minister and home minister who did nothing to stop the genocide in gujrat,plain hijack,kargill fiasco and the numerous scams connected with the drive to reclaim kargill,tehelka scams where for the first time the people saw the party president taking bribe and on and on and on,.a prime minister who takes his job seriously and not a hypocrite like most of us is indeed a rare sight.i am thankfull that such a person is at the helm of this country.
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Jgoel Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 5:24 pm
What world are you living in?
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Saarthak Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Wow, you must be a paid commenter..blind to all the corruption and the public sentiment
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Indian Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
I agree with you.
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What a f**ked up prime minister who has no control and no say in his own government. It is unfortuante that on one hand we have incapable PM in MMS, on the other hand we have opposition lead in flip-flop Sindhi named Advani. And, above all a President who is a better cook in the kitchens of former PMs than a President. In a country of 1 billion+ population, do we really deserve these incapable heads to lead us to growth. Shame on them and shame on us. Very unfortunate.
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After ANGREJO BHAROT CHORO –
we must all chant –
SONIA – INDIA SE BHAGO
Aur mat paise khao.
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IF whole team was supporting Raja then is the PM of India saying the whole team is responsible but himself ? Then why is it RAJA is the ony guy who lost his chair
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Forget the spineless Prime Minister, I was apalled at some of the questions that the TV editors present were asking…it seemed obvious they were asked or paid to not ask tough questions. Only Arnab Gosami from Times Now had the balls to ask a real question..and he was silenced the the PM's press advisor before he could follow up
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MMSIngh wanted himself to be projected Mr Clean. It is only after he demits office all the gotalas will come to light, and then take my word.. It will far exceed BOFORS!!!!!!!!!!!
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how he can escape from reponsibility being head of Government ? He dont know how to control his team members and party memebers its shame !
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Come on poor prime minister………free urself from the clutches of stupids like sonia ( i don't want to attach gandhi to her name) and u will be able to govern entire country very prudently.
come on man accept ur guilty there is nothing to hide,entire country know about u.
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This PM is the most DISHONEST PM and worse than VP Singh. If had been honest like Morarji Desai, he would have thrown this silly job a long time back instead of occupying this top position through backdoor (that is, using Rajya Sabha membership, instead of contesting in a Lok Sabha election). Because of this PM and his team, India lost its image in the world stage. Now Indians are termed corrupts because of this corrupt congress and this useless PM. It is pity that he hangs 'honest' tag around his neck and some foolish people calling him honest without knowing his true personal character.
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Nothing will work on this Congress and people will keep gloating whatever is being fed to them. Only thing that will work on people to wake up, perhaps, is an aggressive attempt from Chinese or a **** in handing of India. That again will be a foolish attempt on their part as they will be getting more than they will ever bargain for instead of staying calm.
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Is there anyone in the Govt. who UNDERSTAND what image is when all their policy is % and NOT TALENT driven? What you expect to come out of top of this pyramid which got its footing misplaced policies? You want to work against nature's own force?
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had the PM been bold and brave he could have resigned and address the nation on tv stating honestly all the facts and figures about all the corrupts in his team and administration. he need not fear of any thing . he has nothing to lose. moreover he would not like to be the next pm so why not do a good job by calling all the spades a spade and setting a good trend. at the same time he should not expect of the media and people as well, to sing songs in his praise unless he and his government takes some strong action against the corruption and the corrupt( let the upa disintegerate to integerate the pride of the country)
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Pankaj Vohra is a CHAMCHA of Sonia Gandhi.
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This is nothing short of excuses to coverup the crimes against all Indians. We need to have a revolution in India and throw out this criminal and Congress.
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That he did not dare to take stand is cleared, but what he intended to do is also not clear. If he is not allow by Mrs Munni, why is this spineless MMS sticking his neck. He should have resign. Did the Congress have better option ? Yes. But Mrs Munni will not allow them to function. He is not allow to choose his team is also shameful. Mr. P Vohra, a chamcha of Mrs Munni did not talk about her. All these shameful things happen because of Mrs Munni, but this chamcha preferred toremain silent on her.
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Imagine a Professor, sets up a paper for an exam and the same gets leaked and his pet boys come up with high scores and grades. This Professor, his agenda, his pet boys whom he strives hard to defend/protect on the flimsy reasonong of a possible chain-break, are more or less similar. His looks and speach during the meet were pathetic and evoked sympthy. But, his and his party's image has taken a beating which he cannot correct.
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The core issue of corruption in 2G sCam has been conveniently hidden by all the authorities starting fromSonia/ PM and his team members. The issue is not the loss of revenue- the real issue is who got the undue benefits and what was the share of Raja & Co. Instead of talking about this all are discussing the method of calculating the loss of revenue
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To all of u who is saying bad stuff about our PM….Can you please name a good or qualifying leader to replace him and plz don't even try n say Advani as everyone would stop reading right away…Also out of all the leaders of the present who do u think has the guts and knowledge of all the policies and country's economy to take on TV editors head on. So until u find a guy as honest and smart as him plz don't bother writing bad stuff about him. I do feel proud n glad when he's sitting with eg. Obama that atleast here is an Indian PM who can discuss about Indian/world's economy and policies with conviction and real facts. Yes he has some faults and not as strict as he should be, but who do u think can replace him currecntly ???
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Saarthak Reply:
February 17th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
…”to take on TV editors head on” Dude most TV editors were asking dumb questions..they were probably told not to ask tough questions. When Arnab Gosami came up with a tough one…he was silenced by the PM's press advisor. If you havent watched the episode stop commenting with a moral high ground defending this corrupt govt
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mp shastri Reply:
February 18th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
—–To all of u who is saying bad stuff about our PM….Can you please name a good or qualifying leader to replace him—–
The name is Modi
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Yes PM Singh is stubborn and is a liability for UPA govt. Unfortunately he is not serving the Indian people but Ms.Sonia Gandhi and family and proved himself to be a weak and power hungry politician!he has besmirched the august office of the Prime Minister of India. He has proved time and again that a weak PM undermines destiny of people of India. Yesterday was a very sad day for all Indians as MMS has proved to have feet of clay and his honesty is a big sham and he has proved to be a weak and incompetent politician! If he is hinest he would have resigned instead of clinging to the KURSI
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What is this???::: Another BOFORS by Sonia
A leading newspaper pointed out last week that the US is selling to India 21 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles and its five training varieties of ATM 84L Harpoon Block II at a price that is roughly 200 percent more than what it charged Pakistan 4 years ago. While the average unit cost of the missiles for India is a little less than 8 million dollars per piece, Pakistan paid only about 3 million dollars
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Manmohan Singh is a dishonest & cowardly half-man, timid technocrat. His servile attitude towards Sonia Gandhi is an historical embarrassment for a leader of a nation.
Sonia Gandhi is an uneducated Italian Catholic, who never went to college and barely finished high school. Her son, Rahul, is a clown. This is the view from outside India from those who know and understand.
Any Indian who votes for these unpatriotic, corrupt, self-serving people is a fool.
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The Indian PM, Manmohan Singh, should now at least stand firm in his decision making on important issues like corruption and hyper-inflation in the country. If he cannot openly come out against the vested interests, he should resign and save whatever is now left of his reputation. People of India must press for drastic amendment in Constitution that should make the poiliticians responsible for financial prudence and accountability, performance assessment by independent citizen juries, and if any public servant or politician is found indulging in corruption be forthwith sacked, his financial assets seized and be put on trial by fast-track courts with sentence of at least 25 years. Unless we take strong and immediate steps to correct the character of our country, we could see our fall very soon!
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To me MMS is corrupted by power. He wants to hold on to his chair at all cost. People may have no faithh in his ability to govern or bring the present situation under control but he will not give up power. That is not due to any strong cause that he wants to serve but due to sheer greed. Self respect may be put in dustbin. He shamelessly tried to defend himself at the cost of his complete cabinet be it Congress or coalition partners whic was rather amusing. Blaming all on coalition was another big joke. As the opposition was quick to point out that there were no coalition comulsions in CWG or Adarsh or ISRO even the Congress started to distance fron his briefing. It is a pity that we are led by such a greedy for power person. Surely we have much better talent available in the country.
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Sleeping on the job was never as credible an alibi as it has become with advent of Manmohan singh on helm of affairs
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Prime Minister M.Singh is being made an escape goat for what he may not have his hands in. He's a man of integrity and his past record shows is not of kind of politicians who like to ventures in corrupt practices when they are in power.
I am not an expert in politics but being an ordinary reader of newspapers I get the feeling that top leadership of Congress, somehow, wants to get rid of him now and in his place wants to see someone like that of Rahul Gandhi.
What makes me feel this is the fact that in all what has come out until now Congress leadership has remained mum. As a part of strategy it has kept itself at an arms length from what Prime Minister going through. Not a single leader from Congress came out in support of Prime Minister, leaving him in these difficult times, when he needed their political support more than any other time.
SHAHID HUSSEIN QABOOLPURIA,
LAHORE, PAKISTAN
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What else could have been expected from Mr. Vohra, what Manmohan Singh is to Sonia Gandhi, Pankaj Vohra is to Congress..He will not say a word against congress leaders, even if one day Manmohan Singh is caught red-handed stealing Mr. Vohra's wallet, he will say it's not mine it belongs to Mr Singh. If you have your eyes closed, let it be. Pleaple's eyes are open now, and you will surely come to know in 2014.
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The entire interview sounded utterly defensive and was a shameful admission of his own ineptitude as the head of the government of the largest democracy in the world. Like VP Singh, the current PM has proved that he is unfit to lead and can at best be only a second in command and this he has admirably justified by passing the buck to the coalition dharma – a lame excuse – and leaders of the parties in alliance in the UPA II. If this is the self confession of Dr MM Singh, then perhaps our country would have expressed itself better in the way the politicos loot the nation by having real power centers where the coalition party heads hail from!
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Shri Manmohan Singh is honarable PrimeMinister of our Country and whose ideas and strategies are appreciated, welcomed and eager to be hear by the world. The scam do need attention but still leaves a room for hon. to comment at the perfect time to come. The events so happened forces one to think that is it correct for young ministers to hold such a responsible ministry who are not free to speak their innate views through policies but are being obliged by certain clever people operating them from behind the curtains to reach this great plateform? Can young ministers who had gathered the knowledge of ways of means of corruptions by keeping vigilant eye on their senior ministers not punished politically during their growth to maturity run our Nation?
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Do you think that people of India are so innocent and fool that they will buy your argument…if so you are absolutely right because otherwise after having so many excuses from our PM's mouth they would have atleast broken their own head but nothing has hppend.
We could have bought PM”s argument and yours also incase if Sushma Sawraj would not have pointed out about the pending case against the CVC, no one neither the PM nor Home Minister nor the Congress Party and now you also have tried to give answer to these questions.
1. When Sushma Sawraj pointed out about the pending case against CVC why it was ignored. Why the facts were not checked.
2. What was the hurry in appointing the CVC on that day only, why they could not have waited for one day and checked the facts again.
3. What was the compulsion of appointing Mr Thomas only and not any one of the other two, who were equally competent.
Mr Vohra it seems that the committe was working under some unknown pressure and were in great hurry to please someone.
And now PM just apologising without giving the answer of the questions above is just trying to skirt the issue as he knows deep in his heart that what he is telling the nation is total lie and nothing else but as we know him well now…we should not expect any thing more then this from him….shame on us that we as Indian Public will keep quite as always and will soon forget this also…so keep on writing such articles as people will read and forget….no one is going to question you…Mera Bharat Mahan…..
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