Opposition parties termed Wednesday's interaction of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a group of journalists nothing more than a “cover- up” of the various scams faced by his government, and said it reflected his complete helplessness in matters of governance.
While the BJP accused him of promoting corruption in the name of compulsions of coalition politics, the Left parties took exception to his comparison of subsidies for marginalised sections with the presumed or real losses in scams such as the award of 2G telecom licences.
Buck stops with him
The general refrain is that Dr. Singh cannot escape responsibility for the acts of omission and commission of the coalition partners since he is the head of the Council of Ministers and the buck stops with him.
The Opposition maintained that the conciliatory note stuck by Dr. Singh on its demand for a JPC on the 2G scam had come a little late in the day. Had the government agreed to constitute the committee earlier, the winter session of Parliament could have been saved.
The Opposition also expressed dismay at the silence of the Prime Minister on the issue of inflation, and said it once again proved that the heart of the ruling combine and Dr. Singh beat only for the rich.
