Post-poll options open: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not rule out options on post-poll alliances.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday did not rule out options on post-poll alliances. If we can form the government on our own,so much the better. But if perchance there is a need for others to come in and support us,all options are open. It is too early to say anything. I am not ruling out anything,and I am not ruling in anything, he said.

To a specific question on whether he could work with the Left again,he replied: We have worked with the Left in the past. Why cant we work with them again? Its all part of democratic politics. The PM was speaking at the sidelines of the book launch of Infosys chairman Narayana Murthys A Better India,A Better World.

Stating that the Congress and allies will form the government after the Lok Sabha polls,Singh said he had a lot of unfinished work. Replying to a question on his state of mind,he said: I am not nervous.

On the UPAs programmes in rural India,the PM said there is no general mass discontent,adding,the implementation is different in different states. Who takes the credit depends on the publicity in that area. He said that most of the promises made in the Common Minimum Programme have been fulfilled except the womens reservation issue.

In his speech,Murthy said his book paints a blueprint for a better India and a better world. He added: For the first time in the last 300 years,India has seen a resurgence of confidence. We have been recognised as an important country. Our GDP growth rate is one of the highest in the world. However this progress has not been shared by every Indian. We have the largest mass of poor people,the largest mass of illiterates,over 300 million Indians dont have access to safe drinking water,250 million Indians dont have access to healthcare and over 630 million Indians dont have access to decent sanitation. We have not lived up to the dreams of our founding fathers,we have not,in effect,embraced inclusive growth.

He said the book,published by Penguin,is a recipe for making such an inclusive,fair and equitable growth happen. It is about redeeming the pledge that out founders took when they fought for an independent India, he said.

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More