Wait for next polls,allow us to rule,PM tells BJP

Singh indicated that he did not intend to throw in the towel

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday came down strongly on the BJP for obstructing Parliament over the coal blocks allotment controversy,saying it was a total negation of democratic politics to not allow the party with majority to function. The stance of the main opposition party is a diversionary tactic meant to keep the government in a state of crisis,the PM said.

We have been elected for a five-year term. I sincerely hope that the BJP will respect the verdict of the people and let Parliament function, Singh told reporters on his way back from the NAM summit in Tehran. In a parliamentary system it is the majority that rules. If the BJP thinks that the majority cannot be trusted to run the country and they would like to run it their way then that is a total negation of what democratic politics is all about.

Singhs exasperation seemed to border helplessness as he blamed the opposition for making it difficult for government to function. One has just 24 hours… and if one is preoccupied all the time handling these diversionary tactics,naturally this affects the capacity and ability of government to attend to its more fundamental tasks, he said.

Story continues below this ad

Singh,however,indicated that he did not intend to throw in the towel. Instead,he said it was still not late for the BJP to realise that there is too much at stake and stick to its obligations as the opposition. Our country has done well despite all these odds,but we cannot assume that we can continue to make a mess of all the processes of governance and yet the country will continue to grow. Let us concentrate on essential tasks and wait till the next elections to test the fortunes of various political fronts, he said.

The PM said he did not want to enter into a tu-tu main-main or a slanging match with political leaders because he has to maintain the dignity of the office of the prime minister.

We would have liked to have laid the foundations of a 9 per cent growth rate. International events have not helped,but also the lack of cohesion in domestic politics is a factor, Singh said. We would have liked the opposition to have given us a chance to work,but unfortunately we go from one crisis to another.

While Singh refused to go beyond the statement he has already made in Parliament on coal blocks allocation,he emphasised that his stand on bringing the PM under the ambit of the proposed Lokpal remains unchanged. Singh also identified the situation in Assam and its effects elsewhere as his long-term concern. When I look at what is happening in Assam the way peace has been affected,it certainly causes me worry. Similarly,that thousands and thousands of people in different parts of the country,especially in the deep south had chosen to go back to the Northeast because they felt insecure for some reason,is not good for promotion of national unity in the country, he said.