By Arvind Padmanabhan, IANS,
Cannes: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said while he did not favour restrictions on cross-border movement of commodities, such actions sometimes were necessary both politically and to protect domestic interests.
“In a world where movement of commodities can be a subject matter of ad hoc restrictions being imposed, that creates an uncertainty, that does not help in creating transparency,” the prime minister told a press conference here.
“In an ideal world, that is the view, everyone should subscribe,” he said, adding “but we are in a world of politics and our prime necessity is to protect our own population.”
He also added in a lighter vein: “Politicians, before they can become statesmen, they have to stay in office for long.”
The prime minister was here for the two-day G20 Summit that concluded Friday. He returns to India early Saturday.