BJP thought I was weak and would run away on being targeted: Manmohan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose tenure has been under constant attack from BJP, on Wednesday hit back saying the opposition party thought he was "weak" and would run away on being targeted but he proved them wrong.

With Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi showering praise on his ten-year-long tenure, Singh contended that the country had seen a much faster growth during UPA than what was witnessed during the NDA regime.

Replying to a question about BJP's attack on him as a "weak" Prime Minister and corruption remaining unchecked during his regime, Singh said, "The BJP attacked me because the BJP felt that I was a weak PM and that under their constant criticism, I will run away from the job that Congress has entrusted me to do."

Singh said, "I think I have proved them wrong and, therefore, there is no reason for anyone to believe that the BJP had substance in what it set out to argue."

Noting that in a developing economy, corruption cannot be wished away, the Prime Minister said that every effort has to be made to overcome these tendencies which give rise to corruption.

"The Congress party has done everything in its power to work out a blueprint, an institutional framework where corruption is a thing of the past.

"I am confident that the next Congress government will be able to overcome whatever tendencies may have been there with regard to dealing with corruption. We will be able to overcome those difficulties and there will be a Congress government which will answer the needs and aspirations of our people," Singh said.

To a question on who will be the prime ministerial candidate, Sonia Gandhi said with a straight face that members of the newly elected parliamentary party will elect the leader and this has also been stated by Rahul Gandhi.

During the 2009 manifesto release, Sonia Gandhi had signalled that Manmohan Singh will be the party's PM candidate by covering her photograph on the manifesto cover, which also had Singh's photograph.

The 2014 manifesto of Congress has Rahul Gandhi prominently featuring on the cover page with Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh also recording their presence in small photos.

The manifesto release programme of the party was marked by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi showering encomiums on Singh.

Lauding Singh's tenure, Sonia Gandhi said that massive social changes and economic development happened during the ten-year-long period of UPA which saw the doors of opportunities opened up for the weaker sections and the poor.

She said that Parliament had passsed far-reaching legislations and under his dispensation Panchayati Raj institutions got new power.

Gandhi said that if her party returned to power, it will bring back fast growth rate.

Hailing the Prime Minister as a "very wise man", Rahul Gandhi said he concurred with Manmohan Singh on most issues. He was asked whether he concurred with the Prime Minister's remark that Narendra Modi would be disastrous for the country.

Before the manifesto was released by Sonia Gandhi, a short film on how Rahul gathered inputs for manifesto making was screened, which said that 10,000 participants were consulted at 27 locations and 100 ideas were incorporated.

Sonia Gandhi said that a number of suggestions given by the people, which could not be released in the manifesto, will be published separately.

Senior leader A K Antony gave the credit for the new approach to prepare the party manifesto to Rahul, who, he said, believed that manifesto must truly reflect the voice and aspiration of the Indian people to bring a new vision to the country.

Both Sonia and Rahul claimed that the party-led government has fulfilled almost all the promises made in their 2009 manifesto.

Rahul also talked about the partnership between the corporate and the Aam Aadmi for development and reaffirmed his commitment to create a floor of support for 70 crore people living above poverty line and below the middle class.

This is a new constituency that Congress is addressing as there is a view that BJP has managed to catch the imagination of the urban middle class, which may not be so enthusiastically voting for Congress in this election as they did last time.