When tension within the cabinet and friction between the government,judiciary and constitutional bodies are adding weight to the perception of a policy drift,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to discourage intemperate voices of his minister-colleagues by warning against complacence on corruption-related issues,reaffirming his faith in the judiciary,and complimenting civil society for having served its purpose by forcing action on the long-pending Lokpal Bill. Speaking to reporters en route home from Pretoria after the fifth India,Brazil,South Africa (IBSA) Summit,Singh admitted to differences with allies but said the real test was in preventing these from undermining the cohesiveness of the UPA coalition. He said that serious concerns of states ruled by non-UPA parties such as Tamil Nadu (asking for safety assurances on Koodankulam nuclear project),Bihar (demanding a special category state status) and Orissa (alleging unfair treatment) were being addressed through appropriate mechanisms in the right fora. Of late,some Ministers in his Cabinet such as Veerappa Moily and Salman Khurshid have been questioning the judiciarys wisdom on several issues. While Moily has spoken about the judiciarys perceived over-reach,Khurshid has wondered how India would be able to attract investments if businessmen were put in jail,referring to the slew of arrests in the 2G scam and the denial of their bail. Without quite ticking them off,Singh said he would not like to comment on their stray thoughts. Ministers may take advantage of a functioning democracy to express opinions but the government had high regard for the judiciary,he said. As a government,we have high respect and high regard for judiciary and it is my sincere belief that the Constitution has laid down the path which the executive,the legislature,the judiciary should follow. And if all of us follow the Constitutional dharma,I think things would turn out to be all right. Yesterday,Congress ally NCPs chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had called the UPA government weak and in a disarray. Referring to differences with the NCP and other allies such as the DMK and the Trinamool Congress,the Prime Minister said: You have my assurance that despite different perspectives the various members of our coalition may have,managing the UPA Cabinet has never been a difficult task. Our government functions with the coherence it needs to carry out its mandate given by the people. Though governments in emerging economies,for instance Brazil and South Africa,too were fighting allegations of corruption,Singh said it cannot be said corruption is an inevitable fallout in rapidly growing economies. That would be a very complacent viewpoint. I think,corruption hurts the development process and the poor. It affects the quality of governance and for all these reasons,we cannot say that corruption is something which is inevitable in our society. He said the recent debate over corruption had served its purpose. We are all working to ensure that we have in place before long an effective Lok Pal Bill in Parliament and that it is our expectation that Parliament will move for an effective Bill,which will be assurance to the people at large that corruption cannot flourish as a way of life in our country. Asked about the violence against Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal,key members of Team Anna,Singh said,There is no place for violence in our democracy,therefore any act of violence is to be condemned. On that point,I am absolutely clear that nothing is gained by pursuit of violence. Howsoever angry one may feel,there are more civilised ways of expressing ones anger and frustration. Wishing L K Advani success in his yatra,he refused to be drawn into a verbal duel of sorts with him,but said,I would hope that he would not use language at times,which appears to be intemperate. I think in politics it is better to avoid harsh words, he added. He said he saw merit in the Occupy Wall Street protests now spilling over to several parts of the world and said the system must have credible answers to take them on board. The Prime Minister said the protests were a very timely warning for all those in charge of the processes of governance. There are reasons why people are protesting in Wall Street,in Europe.(the protests) are about the fat salaries that the bankers are getting when people are being asked to tighten their belts. Theres a problem of growing unemployment in United States. There is worry in Europe also. I think democracy is the way that provides outlet for peoples frustrations, Singh said. Singh said despite the global crisis,India would be able to sustain its growth momentum. I am confident that just as in the year 2008 we showed to the world that we can swim against the wind blowing from abroad,it is still possible for India to maintain a healthy growth rate of about 8-8.5 per cent despite the adversity of the international environment, he said.
