Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to hold a press conference on Friday, his first since May 2010, and only his second on Indian soil since taking office for the second time in 2009.
Dr. Singh has often taken questions from media accompanying him on visits abroad, and addressed press conferences along with world leaders, but has been media shy at home. He has met small groups of Editors twice during his second term, and addressed just one press conference during his first term, in 2006.
The Prime Minister’s decision led television channel Times Now to report that Dr. Singh may announce his resignation on Friday, making way for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
However, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari dismissed the speculation, saying the “report is completely baseless, based on conjecture and insinuation”. “The PM will complete his full term”, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office separately told journalists.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday had said that “in my view, the party should project a person as the leader of the party who will become Prime Minister if the party forms the government”.
