He declared that his government was "dead serious in bringing to book all the wrongdoers regardless of the position they occupy" with regard to 2G spectrum allocation, CWG, ISRO spectrum allocation and Adarsh Housing scams. In his 70-minute interaction with TV editors here, he asserted that his government was not lame-duck nor was he a lame-duck Prime Minister although he admitted that there were "weaknesses of processes in governance" and the "quality of governance" needed to be improved.
On the controversial 2G spectrum allocation, he made it clear that it was done "exclusively" by the Telecom Ministry under A Raja and he or the Cabinet had nothing to do with the first-come first-serve policy adopted.
His hands were also tied by "coalition politics" over the re-induction of Raja into the Cabinet in 2009 despite complaints against him, Singh said. Giving clearest signals that the government is willing to have a JPC probe into 2G scam, the Prime Minister said all efforts were being made to ensure smooth functioning of the upcoming Budget session of Parliament and talks were underway in this regard with the Opposition.
He said he was "not afraid" of facing any committee, including a Joint Parliamentary Committee, on 2G scam and dismissed suggestions that he was blocking an agreement with the Opposition on formation of JPC because he was reluctant to appear before it.
During the interaction, Singh fielded questions on a range of issues, predominantly related to corruption that has clouded his government in the recent months. "I am conscious about personal responsibility. I feel about it. My compulsion is that I have to bear a lot because we cannot have elections in every six months," he said when asked to reflect upon the happenings in the government.
"Some compromises have to be made in managing a coalition. A coalition government has to be viewed in a context that no single party has emerged to rule by itself," he said.
Asked if he ever thought of quitting "frustrated that he was surrounded by a lot of corrupt people", Singh said "in a coalition, there is a coalition dharma. Obviously, things are not entirely what I would like them to be. But quite frankly, I never felt like resigning. I have a job to do.
"The country voted our party to be the leader of the UPA coalition and we have lot of unfinished tasks to be accomplished. I have never felt of giving up halfway. I will stay the course. I never thought of resigning," he said.
"I don't say I have never made any mistake. But I am not that big a culprit as being made out to be," he said in reply to a question.
On the 2G scam over which his government has come under a lot of attack, the Prime Minister said the controversial decision to allocate licenses on first-come first-serve basis was exclusively dealt with by the Telecom Ministry and the matter were "never referred to me or the Cabinet".
"It was the exclusive decision of the Telecom Ministry. Therefore, I did not think I should intervene," he said. Singh said he had conveyed to Raja, in a letter in November 2007, concerns with regard to 2G spectrum allocation and he had assured him that everything was being done in a transparent manner.
The Prime Minister said he did not press the matter further after the Ministries of Finance and Telecom agreed on the mode of issuing licenses, supported by TRAI and Telecom Commission.
Asked why Raja was re-inducted in the Cabinet in 2009 despite complaints against him, Singh said in a coalition, it was not in his hands as to who should be inducted from a coalition partner.
"I cannot divulge what happened during Cabinet formation. We are a coalition government. In a coalition, we can suggest our preferences but you have to go by what the leader of the coalition party insists on who should be in the government," he said.
"Raja and (Dayanidhi) Maran were the choice of DMK and at that moment, I had no reason to feel that anything seriously wrong has been done. I did not feel that I had the authority to object to Raja's entry although complaints were coming from some companies who were not benefited and some who had not benefited adequately.
"I was not in a position to make up by mind that something seriously was wrong that Raja was doing at that time," Singh said.
In his opening remarks, the Prime Minister referred to the media expose of various scams including the Commonwealth Games, ISRO deal, Adarsh housing affairs but asked the media not to give an image that India was a scam-driven country and nothing good was happening.
He said that such an image would weaken the self-confidence of the people and it would not be in the interest of the country.
"I wish to assure the country as a whole that our government is dead serious about bringing to book all wrongdoers regardless of the position they occupy," he said. Asked about his biggest regret in UPA-II, Singh referred to "these irregularities" and said "They should not have happened. I am not very happy about these developments".
To a specific question whether he would be ready to be projected as Prime Ministerial candidate in the next elections, Singh said "it is too early. We still have a long way to go. I have to complete this term. It is too premature to speculate who would be the Prime Ministerial candidate."
He was asked whether he was feeling bad as certain embarrassing things were happening which were not in tune with his nature. "I have looked upon life as a learning and re-learning process. It has been a great educational experience from civil service to academic world to political world. This process of learning, I relish that", he replied.
When told that he was an honest Prime Minister surrounded by dishonest administration and a sense of drift was prevailing, he said after the budget session, there will be a restructuring and reshuffling of his cabinet.
"I will get back to the exercise once the budget session is over", he said. To a question on Home Minister P Chidambaram's comments on governance deficit, he admitted, "obviously, some events have brought out the weaknesses in governance and processes, I think we need to improve the quality of governance. But that does not divide me and other members of the government."
He rejected a questioner's suggestion that his government was facing double-incumbency of attacks from the opposition and within the party. "I do not get that impression (party not backing him). In a democracy, there are views and discussions and when decisions are taken, our party stands united in support of the government.
"I would like a cohesive party to support the government but I am not saying it is not happening," he said. He virtually disagreed with the CAG calculations on the loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in the 2G scam saying the CAG itself had called it presumptive.
There are various methods of computing the figures and went on to question whether the Rs 80,000 crore being spent on foodgrain subsidy, Rs 60,000 crore on fertilisers and subsidy on kerosene could be called as loss.
He was replying to a question whether he agreed with Telecom minister Kapil Sibal's description of zero loss in the 2G scam. Asked whether the government would agree to the JPC on 2G scam, he said "full efforts are being undertaken to see that some way will be found (to ensure that Parliament functions). I hope it will happen."
When a questioner asked whether he was ready for a JPC and whether it was not being formed because he was reluctant appear before it, he said "my position is that I am not afraid of appearing before any committee. The PAC is a joint parliamentary committee, presided over a senior member of the opposition.
"I am fully prepared to appear before any committee including a JPC. It is entirely wrong for an impression to go that I was the one blocking it because I am afraid of appearing before it. My conduct as a Prime Minister must be like Caesar's wife should be above suspicion. I am ready to appear before any committee", he said.
To a question about any rift within the UPA and whether it would continue together, he said as far as the coalition was concerned, "ours is a strong coalition and our allies are strongly committed to strengthening the alliance. There is no danger that inner tensions might break up this coalition".
On the controversial deal between Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO and a private firm Devas for allocation of S-band spectrum, Singh said the deal has not been operationalised and the Cabinet Committee on Security would soon take a decision on terminating it, a decision on which was taken on July two last year.
He also rebutted reports that the PMO was involved in back channel discussions as late as November last year with Devas even as a decision was taken to terminate it.
"I have not talked to anybody.... The PMO has not talked to anybody. The German Foreign Minister who had a meeting with me did not raise this issue." He said different departments including the Law Ministry have recommended termination of the contract but there were only procedural delays in implementing it.