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| J&K situation under control, order returning: PM | | | New Delhi Feb 16 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is under control and people of the state can look forward to "orderly development" and job opportunities for the youths in the near future.
"In Jammu and Kashmir, after some turbulence, there are signs that we are getting things under control and that people of Jammu and Kashmir can look forward to orderly development of development processes," he said in an interaction with television editors. Singh said a number of committees, set up to deal with various aspects of development process, were working to chart out the future course of action.
"(Renowned economist) Dr.C.Rangarajan is preparing a report on the employment aspects and I do feel that if that report is implemented, it would bring a fresh ray of hope to the young people in Jammu and Kashmir who are eagerly searching for productive employment opportunities," the prime minister said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dismissed suggestions that he was a "lame duck" leader, promised strict action against all those found guilty of corruption, regardless of their positions or affiliations, and asserted that he would stay the course till the end of his term because he had a job to do.
"Whatever some people may say, that we are a lame duck government, that I am a lame duck Prime Minister, we take our job very seriously," he said at an interaction with editors of television channels at his 7, Race Course Road residence here this morning.
"We are here to govern, and to govern effectively, tackle the problems as they arise and get this country moving forward," he said. Dr Singh also said the economy was poised to achieve a growth rate of 8.5 per cent in the current fiscal year and was confident of bringing inflation down to 7 per cent by then.
He accused the Opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of obstructing Parliament and blocking progressive measures. But he asserted that the Government was committed to the process of economic reforms.
"We have not given up. We will persist," he said, adding that discussions were on with the Opposition to ensure that the Budget session of Parliament did not face any disruptions the way the winter session did.
In response to a question, Dr Singh said that, despite all the controversies and allegations of scams, he had never considered his resignation, pointing out that he had a job to do. "I have never felt like quitting...giving it up half way, I will stay the full course...I never felt like resigning because I have a job to do," he said.
On the many allegations of corruption against his government, Dr Singh pointed out that he had to function within the constraints of a coalition. He made it clear that he was not afraid of facing a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) or any other committee on the alleged 2G spectrum allocation scam.
"There is entirely a wrong impression that I was blocking the JPC. I am not afraid of facing any committee...I have always said my conduct should be, like Caesar's wife, above suspicion," he said. He said he had already offered to appear before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC), headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, which is also a joint parliamentary committee and which was already looking into the 2G spectrum issue.
The interaction with the media came at a time when Dr Singh has been accused by the Opposition of inaction and silence on the various allegations of corruption against his Government. This was his first such session with the media after the spate of allegations related to the allocation of 2G spectrum, the organisation of the Commonwealth Games, the Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai and the Antrix-Devas deal on S-band spectrum.
The interaction also came just days ahead of the Budget session of Parliament due to begin on February 21. Winter session of Parliament had been almost entirely lost to disruptions caused by the Opposition while pressing its demand for a JPC to probe the 2G spectrum issue.
Prime Minister's last such formal interaction with the media was on September 6, 2010 when he met editors of print media organisations. Dr Singh plunged headlong into the controversial issues by mentioning them at the very outset in his opening remarks.
He referred to the media reports about the various alleged scams and said the media had played a very important role in drawing attention of the government and country to them. "I wish to assure you and the country as a whole that our Government is dead serious in bringing to book all wrongdoers, regardless of the positions they hold," he said.
He also referred to the growth being achieved by the economy and of how the country had managed to recover better than most other countries from the global economic crisis. He admitted that inflation, and food inflation in particular, had been a problem of late.
He also pointed out that the international prices of many food articles, commodities and crude oil were not within the Government's control. But he was confident that the Government would be able to bring the inflation rate to around 7 per cent by the end of this fiscal year.
On the internal security situation, Dr Singh said the Government deserved some credit. He said the situation in the North-East was getting normalised slowly, and expressed happiness that talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) had begun. He said that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was coming under control and the people of the state could look forward to a phase of develop |
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