Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Manmohan Singh was his usual taciturn self at the much awaited press conference Monday to mark the first year of the UPA government’s second term in office, with the 600-odd journalists present letting the confident prime minister off rather lightly by asking scarcely any uncomfortable questions.
Veterans came away with the impression that the 80-minute event was not newsy enough - compared to such previous occasions - and the media handling created some heartburn with many prominent journalists being denied an opportunity to ask questions.

The press conference was held in the cavernous Vigyan Bhavan, the capital’s biggest convention centre that has a capacity of 1,200-plus, but on Monday it was more than half empty.

There were separate sections earmarked for the print and electronic media and, more importantly, for editors/bureau chiefs but journalists being what they are, observed the signages more in breach than practice.

This was Manmohan Singh’s second press conference during his sixth straight year in office and what differentiated it from those of his predecessors what that he was seated alone on the huge dais and did not require any prompting or consultation with key aides.

The only other person on the stage was his media advisor, Harish Khare, who, from a lectern to the prime minister’s right, conducted the press conference by either calling out the names of journalists or the number on the placards they held up.

Seated amongst the journalists were Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Prinicipal Secretary to Prime Minister T.K.A. Nair, Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi and party spokespersons Manish Tewari and Shakeel Ahmed.

The press conference did have its lighter moments, as for instance when the prime minister was asked whose advice he valued more, that of Sonia Gandhi or his wife Gursharan Kaur.

“I am privileged to have advice of Shrimati Sonia Gandhiji and my wife,” he replied without batting an eyelid.

“Both deal with different subjects and I welcome both their advice,” he added for good measure, prompting laughter in the hall. The prime minister, too, smiled.

There were smiles too when a foreign correspondent complained of problems with his accreditation to the Press Information Bureau, because of which it took him 45 minutes to get into the hall while the other journalists just breezed in after flashing their credit card-sized IDs.

“I am sorry…I’m sure it will be sorted out,” Manmohan Singh said.

There were few attempts at needling: Was there a deal with regional satraps Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad to defeat opposition-sponsored cut motions during the just-concluded budget session of parliament?

“There was no deal. Please remove the misunderstanding from your mind,” the prime minister said with alacrity.

For at least one journalist, there was a bigger issue.

“What is this, Mr. Khare? Why didn’t you call me? I was sitting in the second row and desperately waving my placard. You called everyone else but me,” the journalist, who often appears on TV news shows, complained to media advisor Khare after the prime minister had left after the press conference.

Khare patiently listened to him, half smiled and walked away.