PM hints may continue in public life after 2014

Asked whether he had the drive,energy and motivation like the popular Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping to continue in public life after touching 80,Singh,who turned 80 last September,said it’s for the electorate to decide on his future. Deng had undertaken a major tour across China at that age to garner support for changing the economic outlook of the Communist country.

“I have tried my very best to serve this country with all sincerity,with all dedication,whether I have succeeded or not it is for the public at large,the people of India,to judge,” Singh told reporters on his way back from the BRICS summit in Durban.

Even as he described as “hypothetical” questions about whether he would accept the top job again if the Congress were to form the next government and Sonia Gandhi would make him the offer,Singh did not completely negate the possibility. “We will cross the bridge when we reach there,” he quipped.

For a PM who,by his own admission,was running a government that gives an impression of being unstable due to coalition pressures,Singh was unusually confident about facing up to problems as he spoke of not letting reforms be derailed at any cost. Insiders said he was in a cheerful mood throughout the visit to Durban and was relaxed in briefings.

“Obviously coalitions raise issues,sometimes they give the impression that these arrangements are not very stable arrangements and I cannot deny that the possibility exists,but I am confident that our government will complete its full five years and that elections to the next Lok Sabha will take place on schedule,” Singh said referring to the government’s stability after the DMK quit.

At the same time,Singh said he was confident he could push for reforms and not allow the situation to destabilise the country. “Alliances do have compulsions which have to be taken into account. We will not allow these compulsions to derail the reform process or to create a situation where the essential task of governing this vast country of ours can be put aside,” Singh said.

The PM acknowledged that an unpredictable political situation had arisen due the government’s dependence on outside support of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party,but backed himself to deal with it.

“I would be the last one to deny that there are uncertainties. But even then,we are confident that reforms that matter and which are going to yield results in the next few months,we will be able to push them.”

He explained that reforms were no “once-for-all set up” but a process which has to move on through tough times too. “Reforms certainly have to take into account the fact that we don’t have the majority to get Parliament to approve some of our reform proposals. So we are certainly dependent on the goodwill of our allies,” he said.

On the economy itself,Singh expressed concern over the high current account deficit,which stood at 5 per cent for the third quarter. “The current account deficit does worry me. It is our expectation that we will be able to finance,though in the medium term we must seek to bring the current account deficit to a more acceptable level,which I believe in all countries would be about 3 per cent of GDP,” he said.

Responding to a question on whether he thought West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would support the Centre on issues related to Bangladesh after she recently recognised the primacy of the Centre’s role in foreign policy after the DMK withdrew support,Singh said: “I certainly hope that all right-thinking parties and individuals will support foreign policy initiatives of our government.”