We could have done more - Indian PM

INDIA: Indian Premier Manmohan Singh said Monday that his new government could have done more during a first year in office marred by food inflation, a Maoist insurgency and strained ties with Pakistan.

Reviewing his record, 12 months after his Congress Party alliance was returned with an unexpectedly strong mandate in 2009 elections, Singh said it had been one of only “reasonable achievement.”

“We should not be satisfied with what we have achieved,” he told a press conference in New Delhi for the Indian and foreign media.

The 77-year-old prime minister vowed to tackle the “trust deficit” with Pakistan that has prevented a resumption of a peace dialogue suspended after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

He also deplored the recent rise in deadly attacks by Maoist rebels in a worsening insurgency that rages across much of east and central India — and he dismissed talk of his own retirement. “There is always room for improvement and for better outcomes.

“But I do believe that the record of our first year is a record of reasonable achievement,” he said, citing the protection of the economy from the global slowdown as one of his administration’s finest achievements. “I sometimes feel that younger people should take over. As and when the Congress party takes judgement I will be very happy to make (a) place.”

New Delhi, Monday, AFP