Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seemed confident when he spoke to five editors at a media conference on June 29. By blaming the media for playing the role of the “accuser, prosecutor and judge”, he gave an impression that he, too, could be aggressive when required.
The PM defended his position on scams (Commonwealth Games and telecom), allegedly perpetrated by his colleagues, by stating that he did not have sufficient facts and a “full picture”. If the PM is not aware of the facts, god save our democracy. Though he seemed to have an active economic agenda, when it came to discussing an important issue like inflation, he simply blamed the international economic environment (increasing commodity prices) for it.
The five editors concluded that the PM was speaking “confidently”. However, after going through the details of the PM’s responses, it is quite clear that he still lacks the prime ministerial energy required for good governance.
K V Rao, Bangalore
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