New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over phone seeking to clear the air in the wake of the marxist leader's criticism of Singh's leadership.

Bhattacharjee is understood to have told Singh that he held him in high reagard and the media had "misquoted" him.

Bhattacharjee had in the last two days Singh had "failed" on all fronts and Congress under his leadership lost a series of assembly elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and other states.

"I repeat what I have said. I did not try to denigrate the Prime Minister. I have high respect for him. Unfortunately, he is heading a government which is failing to perform on all fronts," Bhattacharjee had told reporters in Kolkata yesterday.

The Prime Minister brushed aside charges that he had failed to check prices and hindered West Bengal's growth, saying issues were being politicised because of elections.

"This is politics. We are getting nearer to the elections. Therefore, issues are being politicised," Singh told reporters on the sidelines of the Civil Investiture ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here today.

Source : PTI