Prime minister Manmohan Singh will address the media on Monday in the national capital. This will be the PM’s first full-fledged encounter with the media in the last four years.
The press meet comes in the wake of the Air India (AI) crash at Mangalore on Saturday that claimed 158 lives and led to the cancellation of a dinner organised to mark the first anniversary of UPA-II. Singh was to release the UPA-II report card, which has been deferred now.
It is not just the AI crash that would be weighing upon the prime minister’s mind as he faces the mediapersons on Monday, he would also have to take many uncomfortable questions relating to UPA’s internal issues.
Almost relentless violence from left wing extremists and a bitter internal divide within the ruling Congress on the approach to tackling this problem is an area of core concern. Ministerial indiscipline within the Cabinet too has touched a new low with members locking horns publicly.
His crisis managers have been able to ward off any serious political challenge to the stability of the UPA-II during the previous budget session of parliament, but the ability of the government to push through crucial legislations on its agenda remains constrained. For instance, the Centre preferred to wait before pushing the Women’s Reservation Bill through Lok Sabha.
With the 3G auction netting more than Rs67,000 crore, the government is better placed in terms of fiscal situation, but the main concerns of the overall price situation still remain unanswered.
