Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is to meet a small group of editors on Wednesday morning to discuss issues ranging from corruption charges against the government to continuing inflation and unemployment.
The informal interaction comes days after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which took stock of the current political situation. Some CWC members were reportedly of the view that Dr. Singh should engage the media more often and dispel the impression being created by the Opposition and sections of the civil society that the government has something to hide.
According to senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Dr. Singh intends to make it a regular exercise and more such interactions could be expected in the coming days.
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His endeavour to reach out to the media comes at a juncture when the government is faced with charges of scams and accusations of non-performance and malfeasance in the administration. Senior UPA leaders believe the Prime Minister's reticence to speak out in defence of the government has not helped the situation.
In a recent interview to a television channel, Home Minister P. Chidambaram articulated sentiments of a section of the UPA and the government. “ ... But yes, I acknowledge that lots of people would like the Prime Minister to step up to the plate, so as to say, and speak more often. But that is the style of the person,” Mr. Chidambaram had said.