Sonia confident UPA will return to power again

Asserting that talks were on with the Opposition and other leaders to ensure smooth passage of the food Bill,Sonia expressed the hope that the landmark legislation would be passed in the current session of Parliament. The Bill is to be taken up on Monday and Gandhi will be speaking in the Lok Sabha on the subject. “Ask BJP (about whether the food bill will be passed),” she said.

Gandhi,not known to have too many such impromptu interactions with journalists was speaking at the National Media Centre which she,along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,inaugurated.

Though Gandhi appeared confident about UPA returning to power next year — “Certainly. 100 per cent,” she said when asked if UPA III would be a reality — she seemed to be in two minds about whether UPA II would run the whole course. Choosing to stay silent on one occasion when asked about the possibility of early polls and on another answering with a non-committal: “Our aim is to go on till the very end.”

Singh in his speech emphasised that the role media plays in a vibrant democracy comes with responsibilities and that includes caution to see to it that witch hunting does not replace investigative journalism.

“A spirit of inquiry must not morph into a campaign of calumny. A witch-hunt is no substitute for investigative journalism. And personal prejudices must not replace the public good. At the end of the day,credibility is the media’s currency and is integral to its contract with the reader or viewer,” Singh said.