Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that if BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ever becomes the PM, it would be a disaster for the country. He said this in his third ever address to the media in his 10 years as Prime Minister. While he made his views on Modi very clear, he also shied away from divulging whether Rahul Gandhi will eventually be named as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the Congress or not. At the same time, he also indicated that he was not in the running for a third term as Prime Minister. The last time he addressed the media was in February 2011.



Instead, he chose to focus on the state of economy of the nation as well as the recent electoral debacle that the Congress witnessed in the assembly elections, especially in Delhi.



Hailing the fact that the people demonstrated faith in the institutions of democracy in 2013, he said, "Our people have voted in record numbers in recent assembly elections." Analysing the reasons for the party's dismal performance in the recent elections, "Price rise was a factor in people turning against Congress in the recent assembly polls."



Admitting that the "Congress did not do well in these elections, but we welcome the extent of participation and we will reflect what the results tell us and learn the appropriate lessons".



He also urged everyone to respect the institutions of democracy, which he said were the "cornerstones of modern India".



"All of us who wish to build a better India ... must respect these institutions and work through them. They are the legitimate instruments in our hands (despite) limitations."



Moving on the the state of economy of the country, the PM said India wasn't the only country that faced the slowdown heat. "All emerging economies, including India faced the slowdown heat in the past couple of years." However, he indicated that things were bound to change for the better soon as the "cycles of global economic growth are improving".



Lamenting that the UPA had not been able to control inflation, he said, "We need to increase supplies to keep food prices under control. Worry about inflation is legitimate but incomes of most people have increased faster than inflation."



He also said that during his tenure as PM, "...even if we include the years of slowdown, the rate of growth is the highest in any 9-year period" and that the number of people below poverty line has come down. He also expressed regret regarding the fact that the UPA government had not been able to geenrate employment in manufacturing sector and that efforts need to be made to support small and medium enterprises.



Ruling out a third term as Prime Minister for himself, Manmohan Singh further said that he would be handing over the baton for the top job to a new leader after the general elections due in May. "In a few months' time, after the general election, I will hand the baton over to a new prime minister," he said.



Answering questions after his address, he clearly indicated that he had no intentions of running for PM for a third term. "I am not going to be a PM candidate the UPA comes into power again," he said, adding that "Rahul Gandhi has outstanding credentials to be named the PM candidate."



At the same time, when asked if at any time during his tenure he felt like resigning, he said, "I have never felt like resigning anytime. I have always enjoyed my work, worked with integrity."



"I have tried to serve this country with dedication. I never used my office to enrich my relatives or friends," he said.



When asked if the 2014 General Elections were going to be a face-off between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, he said, "I am confident that the next PM will be from the UPA." He also went on to say that "Without discussing the merits of Mr Modi, I believe it will be disastrous for the country to have him as the PM."



"If you measure the strength of Prime Minister by presiding over mass massacre of innocent citizens on streets of Ahmedabad, then I do not believe in it."



Responding to a question about the corruption charges levelled against the UPA government, the PM sought to clear the air and said, "As far as the charges of corruption are concerned most of these are concerned to UPA-1. We went to the electorate on the basis of our performance during UPA-1."

Referring to his name being dragged into the spectrum allocations case, he said, "I feel somewhat sad, because I was the one who insisted that spectrum allocations should be transparent and fair."



Dismissing the various corruption scandals that have rocked the UPA government, he said, "Whether these issues which have been raised by media, CAG, courts, one must not forget belong to period not of UPA-2 but the previous five years. I have every reason to believe that when history of this period is written we will come out unscathed.



The dimensions of problem have been overstated by media, CAG (on corruption allegations on UPA-2)."



Talking about India and Pakistan's fragile relationship, he said, "I believe that good relationship between India-Pakistan is important for this subcontinent. I have not been able to visit Pakistan as circumstances were not appropriate to achieve solid results. Still hopeful of making it during my tenure."



When asked about how having dual centres of power with Congress president Sonia Gandhi worked, he said, "I believe that an arrangement where Congress president and prime minister are not the same person has worked tremendously well."



Answering another question on the 1984 riots, he said, "Whatever happened in 1984 should never have happened."

