'Narendra Modi as PM will be disastrous for country'
The Prime Minister took on BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate and said that the BJP candidate would be disastrous for the country if he emerges victorious in this year's polls.
"I believe it would be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as Prime Minister," he said.
He also said that the BJP spoke of the Gujarat chief minister as being a strong candidate.
"Strength is not massacring innocent people in the streets of Ahmedabad," he said.
Retirement
Manmohan Singh made it clear that he has no plan to be the face of the UPA campaign this year
"I will hand over the baton to a new prime minister. I hope it will be a UPA prime minister," he said.
He also said he hadn't decided on whether he would write his memoirs or play with his grandchildren saying he has five month of tenure left.
"I will cross that bridge when I get there," Singh said.
PTI
Scams
The Prime Minister said that there had been wrongdoing in allocations of coal and telecom spectrum but pointed out that he had attempted to set matters right.
"I feel somewhat sad because I insisted spectrum allocation should be fair and equitable," Singh said, adding that he had asked that coal blocks should be auctioned.
"This is not to say there were no irregularities. But the dimensions of the problem have been overstated by the media and by other entities," he said.
He also said that despite the claims of the opposition all the scams had taken place during UPA-I and people had subsequently deposed faith in them during the 2009 elections.
"The people of India do not seem to have taken heed to the allegations of corruption against me or the party," he said.
Best Thing as PM
He was asked the best thing and worst thing about being the Prime Minister but he only listed the former.
"The best moment was when we signed the nuclear deal with the United States and ended the nuclear apartheid that sought to stifle social and economic growth and technical progress in our country in many ways," he said.
The Sonia effect
The Prime Minister denied that the dual power centres in the UPA government had ever affected the government's performance or him in any way.
"It is not a disadvantage. If the Congress president or vice president have views it ought to be reflected in government's thinking," he said.
He also said that the arrangement had worked 'exceedingly well'.
"I sincerely believe that the arrangement where the Congress President and PM are not the same person has worked exceedingly well.For me, it is a remarkable achievement that I have been able to finish 10 years as PM without any hiccups in the relationship with Mrs Gandhi with the office of the PM or the government," Singh said.
"For me Mrs Gandhi's support has been an enormous help in dealing with complex issues," he said, adding that she was always there to back him up.
On AAP
"Corruption is an issue and AAP has been able to make a success of their concern for eradication of corruption," Singh said.
"Whether they will succeed or not, only time will tell. Dealing with corruption is not an easy process. .. we must collectively grapple with the task of dealing with corruption. This is not a matter that only one party can accomplish. Various parties have to work together to deal with this monster," he said.
On Rahul Gandhi
He refused to comment on whether the Congress Vice President should be the party's prime ministerial candidate but he had words of praise for him.
"I have always felt that the government would be strengthened if Rahul Gandhi joins the government. But Rahul felt he has responsibilities to the party that did not allow him to join the government. " Singh said.
On visiting Pakistan
The Prime Minister said that he had thought of visiting Pakistan many times.
"But every time I thought about it, the circumstances were not appropriate for me to go," he said.
"I have not lost hope... I still hope to go before my tenure as PM ends," he said.
On inflation affecting Congress's performance
"I would not like to speculate... but I will be honest enough to say that it could be that the price rise was a factor in the people's turning against the Congress party and I have expained the reasons... there were reasons beyond our control," Singh said
Has he ever felt like quitting?
"I never felt like resigning at any time. I have enjoyed doing my work. I have tried to do it without regard for fear or favour," Singh said.
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