Webinfosys's Updated News : ‘Younger MPs will find place in Govt’

Congress president Sonia Gandhi says younger MPs will be given a place in the government. “In the latest party exercise, I have given an opportunity to quite a number of younger MPs and non-MPs. After the exercise in the party, we were going to do the same in government. I hope this will be possible,” she said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Friday.

When asked if a cabinet reshuffle was in the offing, she said, “You should have asked the prime minister about it.”

Sonia did not deliver a speech, instead she took questions from HT’s Advisory Editorial Director Vir Sanghvi and subsequently, from the audience. Topics ranged from Rahul Gandhi’s induction as general secretary, the nuclear deal, mid-term polls, her assessment of the government’s performance, her entry into politics, the office-of-profit controversy and Pratibha Patil’s election as president.

An appreciative audience relished the candid responses as Sonia reacted, clarified or expounded — on several subjects for the first time — with Sanghvi setting the ball rolling with questions that brought out her persona and style of functioning.

Depending on the issue, she turns for advice to the Congress Working Committee, her senior aides and younger MPs, Sonia said. But it’s her son Rahul, daughter Priyanka and son-in-law Robert Vadra whom she consults on “personal matters” — like quitting the Lok Sabha to spare the government the “embarrassment” caused by the “serious oversight” of not exempting the National Advisory Council as an office of profit. She said she chose to renew her mandate because she did not want an ordinance just to bail her out.

On her comments at Jhajjar, Haryana, Sonia said they were not aimed at the Left. “I know everyone would want me to say that it was an attack on the Left. But I am going to disappoint them. I was talking of the opposition to our government in Haryana,” she said.

“We (the UPA and the Left) are working in a coalition. If I have to say something, the last thing I would do is to publicly go out and shout that I don’t agree. I will call them and express my reservation… and give them an opportunity to freely express their views,” she said. The prime minister does the same, she added.

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Webinfosy's Updated News : N-push won’t come to shove

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday laid to rest speculation about the country heading towards an early election due to the UPA’s differences with Left partners over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

Singh made it clear that he would not put the government at stake, but added that he had not given up hope that “reason and common sense” will change the perception of the Left parties towards the deal.

“If the deal does not come through, it will be disappointing… But in life, one has to live with certain disappointments and move on to the next… We have a lot of unfinished business to complete,” the prime minister said at the fifth Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Friday.

Earlier, welcoming the guests, HT Media Ltd Vice-Chairperson and Editorial Director Shobhana Bhartia said India was poised to take its rightful place in the councils of the world even as it addresses its internal challenges. She cheered the positive trends of the Indian economy and called for zero tolerance for corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency. She also underscored that people on the margins had to be brought on board. Globalisation will have merit only when it creates employment, she said.

In a lively interactive session, the prime minister spoke his mind. “Ours is not a one-issue government,” he said. He denied a suggestion that he overstepped the limits of disagreement by daring the Left to withdraw support on the nuclear deal. “I don’t think I overstepped (my limits). I was responding to a public statement issued by the four Left parties. I am conscious of my responsibility, of what I should say and not say... I was appealing to their good sense,” he responded. Singh also turned another question on whether he would like to stay on as PM if the deal didn’t come through. “It is a suggestion for action,” he said.

This is the first time that the Congress’ top leadership has hinted at the possibility of not pushing the deal in the face of the Left’s opposition — to an extent de-linking the government’s fate from that of the 123 Agreement.

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Webinfosys's Updated News : India should take leadership in South Asia: Rajapaksa

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday urged India to take leadership in the South Asian region.

India, he said, must establish itself as an economic powerhouse and help its neighbours move towards peace and progress.

Delivering the keynote speech on 'India in a regional context: a neighbour's view’ on the concluding day of the fifth Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Rajapaksa envisioned a self-confident society for both India and Sri Lanka, which would ‘make poverty history’, and improve the lives of millions and millions of their citizens.

Urging India to play the role of a leader in the SAARC region, the Sri Lankan President also called for a common currency for the region. "I have been saying this, and I reiterate it, because this will stabilise our regional economy," he said.

While talking of Sri Lanka’s internal problems, Rajapaksa deplored the lack of willingness to shun violence on the part of the separatist forces and their reluctance to come to the negotiating table.

Asked if Sri Lanka needed more assistance from India in tackling its domestic problems, including terror, Rajapaksa said, "We have their moral support. That is more than enough."

As for reports linking insurgency in India to the terrorist forces on the Lankan soil, Rajapaksa trod a cautious path. "We don't have any such information. Whenever we have, we will discuss it with the Indian Government.”

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