Saturday, October 1 2005 19:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Citing Gita, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Oct 1, 2005) played down the strong criticism by Communist Party of India (CPI) Marxist (M) CPI (M) holding him 'directly responsible' for India's vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against Iran's controversial nuclear programme saying it did not surprise him.

"Nothing surprises me," he said when asked by reporters whether the article by General Secretary CPI (M) Prakash Karat in 'People's Democracy' had caught him unawares.

"Gita says one must do one's duty unmindful of the consequences," the Prime Minister said at Rashtrapati Bhawan after President A P J Abdul Kalam presented the Lal Bahadur Shashtri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management to former bureaucrat C P Srivastava.

Accusing the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of 'appeasing' the US, Karat in a strongly worded article in his party organ asserted that the Left couldn't countenance this 'new direction' of the foreign policy.