By Arvind Padmanabhan, IANS,
On Board Air India One : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said differences among alliance partners in a coalition are not uncommon but governance was not an issue in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
“Well we are a coalition government and there are bound to be differences,” the prime minister said when queried on Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and the DMK speaking in different voices on issues.
“The real test is that we see that these differences do not undermine the cohesiveness of the government,” the prime minister told the media delegation that had accompanied him to Pretoria for the India-Brazil-South Africa Summit.
He said his government was smoothly carrying out the mandate given by the people.
“You have my assurance that despite different perspectives that the various members of our coalition may have, managing the UPA cabinet has never been a difficult task,” the prime minister added.
(Arvind Padmanabhna can be contacted at [email protected])