NEW DELHI: Ruling out early retirement, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday rejected suggestions of a “disconnect” between his government and the Congress party while making it clear that he would not ask every cabinet colleague to “shut up.”

A characteristically gentle but firm Prime Minister made it clear that there was no “drift” in the government. “Allowing people to express their views is not necessarily a sign of drift,” he said.
In an 80-minute interaction with a group of editors at his official residence here, Dr Singh indicated that he would “look at” options of a cabinet reshuffle prior to the next Parliament session beginning November 7. “I would like to reduce the average age of my cabinet.”
The Prime Minister’s remarks came in the backdrop of perceptions in the media and political circles that there was a disconnect between him and the Congress and criticism that his ministers were openly airing their differences with each other. He saw nothing wrong in the expression of different points of view by his ministers and Congress functionaries because India was a democracy. Moreover, the Congress was a mass movement in which people express their views, he said.
Expression of differing viewpoints was “not necessarily a bad thing.” It was necessary, however, that the cabinet and the government functioned with a “certain degree of cohesion,” Dr Singh said.
He went on to underline that his cabinet functioned with a “much greater degree of cohesion” than even the first cabinet headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. There was almost daily exchange of letters between Nehru and his deputy Sardar Patel. There were differences between Indira Gandhi and her deputy Morarji Desai, he pointed out. During Indira Gandhi’s time a group of “Young Turks” led by Chandrashekhar openly constituted a dissident group, the Prime Minister said during the interaction that turned into a virtual press conference covering major domestic political issues, economy and foreign policy.
A questioner suggested that he gave “an impression of marking time with the issue of succession in your party” while Mr Rahul Gandhi was “spreading wings” and that he may not complete his tenure. Dr Singh responded with a chuckle, “I think politics is a competitive game and some people or politicians feel that they should not be in the Opposition but they should be in the place where I am sitting. I don’t think you can hold that against me.”
The Prime Minister answered questions on the recent Supreme Court order that foodgrains must be distributed free to the poor instead of being allowed to rot in the open, the Naxal problem, state of the economy, Kashmir situation and on foreign policy. He made it clear that it would not be possible to distribute foodgrains free to the poor and suggested that the Apex Court should not go into the realm of policy formulation. How can foodgrains be distributed free to an estimated 37 per cent of the population which lives below the poverty line, Dr Singh asserted. “I do recognise that food should be available to the people below poverty line at concessional prices. We have not allowed any increase in the issue price of foodgrains to people below poverty line since 2004,” he said.
Promising to take action against any corrupt minister, Dr Singh asserted that he had an obligation to do so because corruption constituted a major challenge.       A questioner told Dr Singh that there was a perception that India had “the most honest Prime Minister presiding over the most corrupt government.” Therefore it would be useful if any action he takes against any minister is made public. The Prime Minister responded by affirming, “If I get to know such cases, I will take action. Whenever situations have arisen I have asked ministers for their explanation.”
On Kashmir, Dr Singh said a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by him would be held later this week to discuss the issue “threadbare.” About the Naxal problem, he said it was “more menacing than ever before” and required to be tackled in two ways - addressing valid economic and social issues and also enforcing law and order. “I think, quite frankly, there is no royal road to success in dealing either with Naxalism or the intricate problems in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Amid discordant notes in India’s ties with China, the Prime Minister said India has to take “adequate precautions” but cannot give up on peaceful resolution of issues with China. Relations between the two Asian powers, Dr Singh stressed, continued to be a mix of competition and cooperation. The effort should be to create a milieu in which there can be peaceful competition, he said.