Saturday, March 19 2005 10:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Pune: The Jharkhand and Goa Governors were not acting under any party or Central diktats and their decisions were outcome of their own volitions taken in the background of the prevailing political situations in the respective States, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

In an informal gathering of senior editors of Sakal newspapers in Pune last evening (Mar 18, 2005), Manmohan Singh in reply to a question whether he thought the actions of Goa and Jharkhand Governors had in any way tarnished the image of Congress party, said the Goa Governor did not act unconstitutionally while refuting the "gossips" that their (the two Governors) actions had been influenced by any party or Central diktats.

Asked about his experience of heading a coalition Government, Singh said while he was getting excellent support from his Cabinet colleagues like Arjun Singh, Pranab Mukherjee and Sharad Pawar, the fact that there were some problems from the Left allies cannot be denied.

"I do not suspect their thinking. It may not have any motive. However, their thinking has outlived its utility," he said.

Singh said that the nine months of rule under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government have been very productive, the growth rate was on track and exports were booming.

"When Opposition leader L K Advani commented that I was an invisible Prime Minister, I had replied that I should be judged by my work and not by my visibility," Singh said.

Questioned about the possibility of full convertibility of Rupee, the Prime Minister said as of now the non-resident Indians could fully convert the Rupee. There is absolutely no restrictions on flow back of remittances.

However, for resident Indians, I do not see any earth-shaking need for the people to be allowed to invest abroad. If they have enough money they can very well invest in the companies in Pune, the Prime Minister said and expressed happiness over the trend of many Indian companies taking over companies abroad.

Queried about the fiscal picture of the country, Manmohan Singh said that he was worried on this count. Fiscal deficit (together of States and Centre which was 9 to 10 per cent of the GDP) has been one of the weaknesses of our reform process.

It was thought that a broader tax base would bring in more revenue but it did not happen because of laxity and other weaknesses in our tax administration and in the long run this was unsustainable, Singh added.

"We expect that the growth rate will rise to 8 per cent next year, and this will help us to take education, sanitation and public health to the weaker sections, particularly the rural populace," he told a rally of Congress workers in Pune.

Education and health were being given priority by the UPA Government, he said, adding that in the next five years, his Government intended to ensure that no child of school-going age remained without education.

The cess collected by the Centre for education and public health has yielded large amount of money and the Rural Health Mission to be launched from April 1 will provide a ray of hope to the people, particularly those from backward areas, he said.

Singh said that the 'food for work' programme would soon be introduced as employment guarantee scheme in rural areas in a big way to fight unemployment.

Infrastructure improvement by way of rail modernisation, new airports, ports, improving telecom were also essential, Singh said.

The Prime Minister said people across the globe admitted the 21st century belonged to China and India.

"India is an experiment, being watched by the world, of 100 billion population with varied caste, creed and religion, yet a strong country that is aiming to grow," Singh said.