Manmohan
says he is doing his best, flays media
Wednesday June 29, 2011 08:06:49 PM, IANS
|
New Delhi:
A frustrated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday denied "a
growing perception" that his coalition government was under siege
and said that he was doing his best to curb corruption.
In a free and frank interaction with a group of editors here,
Manmohan Singh moaned that India's economic story would be hit
because of "constant sniping" between the government and the
opposition.
"I think there is a growing perception that this government is in
siege, that we have not been able to deliver on our agenda," he
said in his opening remarks.
"An atmosphere has been created in the country - and this I say
with all humility - the role of the media today in many cases has
become that of the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge."
This way, Manmohan Singh said, no parliamentary democracy could
work.
The prime minister spoke his mind out amid growing corruption
scandals that have badly dented the image of the Congress-led
government that began its second five-year innings in 2009.
While admitting that some people may "deliberately do wrong
things", he said it was vital to create an atmosphere where the
governments, ministers and civil servants could work without fear.
"We take decisions in a world of uncertainty, and that's the
perspective I think parliament, our CAG (Comptroller and Auditor
General) and our media must adopt if this nation is to move
forward."
The remarks followed a still unravelling corruption scandal
involving allocation of second generation spectrum by his
government that has landed a former cabinet minister, a key MP and
some industrialists in jail. A prominent Congress leader is also
in prison over corruption charges linked to last year's
Commonwealth Games.
The prime minister warned that if an atmosphere of cynicism was
created all round, "I think the growth impulses ... will not
flourish."
And that, he said, "worries me".
Corruption, the economist-turned-politician admitted, "is a big
issue. It has caught the imagination of the people, and we will
deal with it."
Manmohan Singh said there were differences and "there will be
differences" over how to battle corruption, "but there are
mechanisms to resolves these differences".
He made a specific mention of both Gandhian Anna Hazare and yoga
guru Baba Ramdev, who have taken to the streets campaigning
against corruption and black money.
But he made it clear that while the government would introduce a
strong Lokpal bill to fight corruption, "it is for parliament to
pass it or amend it and that right cannot be taken away".
In any case, the government had no magic wand, he underlined.
"We can deal with corruption, we can deal with black money but
quite frankly it is wrong for anyone to assume there is a magic
wand which will lead to an instant solution of these difficult
societal problems."
The prime minister, who enjoys widespread respect for personal
probity, made no effort to hide his frustration.
"In the situation today, day in day out we are described as the
most corrupt government.
"There have been aberrations. But quite frankly I have been a
civil servant all my life, except the last 20 years. What
surprises me is not that there are corrupt civil servants but that
despite all the temptations, so many of our civil servants remain
honest and lead frugal lives and this is the mainspring that we
have to tap.
"We must punish the wrong doers but we must not paint all civil
servants as babus and contemptuously describe them as a despicable
class."
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