10-14-2004, 10:13 PM
<b>Sonia persuades PM to stay</b>
11 October 2004: <b>In the last one month, Manmohan Singh has met Sonia Gandhi at least twice asking to resign from the primeministership, but she has dissuaded him, but with increasing difficulty.</b>
While the prime minister does not keep well, having undergone a bypass surgery, and being severely diabetic, needing to take insulin shots frequently, top Congress managers disclosed that Singh was absolutely crushed when two relatively junior ministers, Kamal Nath and Kapil Sibal, took policy decisions of which he was informed only when his assent was required.
Sources said that while <b>Singh has not reconciled to his senior cabinet colleagues ignoring him and briefing Sonia on policy matters, deeming it a demeaning of the prime ministerâs office, the trend of even junior colleagues to keep him out of the loop has deeply hurt him</b>.
Both times, privileged sources said, <b>Sonia persuaded Singh to stay, saying he had been given a responsibility which he had to discharge, and that he had to find ways to get around his ministers</b>, but opposition to Manmohan is growing in governing circles.
For the Congress, replacing Manmohan with another lightweight politician would not settle the problem, while a political stalwart as successor would be hugely threatening, and therefore, unthinkable.
Top sources said that the<b> BJP leadership is well aware of Manmohanâs growing difficulties</b>, and therefore, has refused to be actively part of the campaign of George Fernandes, Subramanian Swamy, Mulayam Singh Yadavâs aides and others to bring down the UPA.
www.newsinsight.net
11 October 2004: <b>In the last one month, Manmohan Singh has met Sonia Gandhi at least twice asking to resign from the primeministership, but she has dissuaded him, but with increasing difficulty.</b>
While the prime minister does not keep well, having undergone a bypass surgery, and being severely diabetic, needing to take insulin shots frequently, top Congress managers disclosed that Singh was absolutely crushed when two relatively junior ministers, Kamal Nath and Kapil Sibal, took policy decisions of which he was informed only when his assent was required.
Sources said that while <b>Singh has not reconciled to his senior cabinet colleagues ignoring him and briefing Sonia on policy matters, deeming it a demeaning of the prime ministerâs office, the trend of even junior colleagues to keep him out of the loop has deeply hurt him</b>.
Both times, privileged sources said, <b>Sonia persuaded Singh to stay, saying he had been given a responsibility which he had to discharge, and that he had to find ways to get around his ministers</b>, but opposition to Manmohan is growing in governing circles.
For the Congress, replacing Manmohan with another lightweight politician would not settle the problem, while a political stalwart as successor would be hugely threatening, and therefore, unthinkable.
Top sources said that the<b> BJP leadership is well aware of Manmohanâs growing difficulties</b>, and therefore, has refused to be actively part of the campaign of George Fernandes, Subramanian Swamy, Mulayam Singh Yadavâs aides and others to bring down the UPA.
www.newsinsight.net