By IANS,
On Board Air India One: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday stressed there was no “dissention in the cabinet” in the wake of the 2G spectrum allocation row and Home Minister P.Chidambaram “enjoys his full confidence.”
Addressing a press conference aboard his special aircraft while returning from his visit to New York via Frankurt, he lashed out at the opposition for “destabilising polity”. He also accused them of getting “prematurely restless” to “force” early elections.
Manmohan Singh asserted that his government will “stay the course” and complete its full five-year term.
“This rift that you talk about, I see reflected only in the media. I am not aware of any such rift. We are a cohesive government. We shall remain a cohesive government so let there be no confusion on that.. there is no dissention in the cabinet,” he said when asked about differences among his cabinet colleagues following a finance ministry note that the then finance minister Chidambaram could have prevented the spectrum scandal in 2008 if he had insisted on an auction.
“There is nothing like this as being written in media in the last few days about the differences between Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. Mukherjee,” he said.
“One particular note you are talking about, I have read about that and this note is designed to set out a record that what took place. All these matters now are in the public domain they are being looked into by the courts. And therefore, it will not be appropriate for me to comment on what is good or what is bad in these notes. They are the property of the public, they are being discussed in the courts,” he added.
He was referring to the Supreme Court hearing on Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy’s plea to probe Chidambaram’s role in the 2G scam.
Backing Chidambaram, Manmohan Singh said: “..and as far as Chidambaram is concerned, I have said it that he continues to enjoy my full confidence when he was finance minister. And he continues to enjoy my full confidence as home minister that applies to him and that applies to Mukherjee,” he added.
But, the prime minister clarified that in all cabinet debates happen and there could be different perspective. But added it does not contribute to divisiveness.
“…I suspect there are other forces which want to destabilise our polity,” he said when asked about the growing impression that the UPA-II government had lost the goodwill and momentum it had in its first incarnation.