New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Setting at rest speculation of early polls, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today exuded confidence that his government will last the full term, saying the failure of the Indo-US nuclear deal would "not be the end of life".

Defending the nuclear deal as "honourable" and "good for India", he, however, skirted a question on whether he would step down if the agreement is not implemented, quipping "it is a suggestion for action".

Referring to the differences over the deal, he said, "We are in the realm of politics" where there are differences of perception.

He said efforts are on to "reconcile divergent points of view" over the nuclear deal with the Left parties and hoped that "reason and common sense" will prevail. "I have not given up hope".

"Elections are still far away. The government has still one-and-a-half years to go to complete its term. I hope and expect we will stay the course," Singh said at an interaction at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here when asked whether polls were round the corner because of the stand-off with the Left parties over the nuclear deal.

Asked whether he was worried that his personal prestige would plummet and he would be a weakened Prime Minister if the deal fails, he shot back "we are not a one-issue government... If the deal does not come through, it will be a disappointment. But in life, one has to live with certain disappointments and move on to the next."
In his first public comments on speculation of snap polls in the wake of souring of ties between the government and the Left over the nuclear deal, the Prime Minister said "If it doesn't come through, it is not the end of life."

He, however, underlined that he attaches "importance" to the deal and wants it to succeed.

The views assume significance as the government's Left allies are vigorously opposing operationalisation of the deal and have threatened of "serious consequences" if it was done.

Noting that "politics is an art of impossible", Singh recalled that similar challenges were faced when economic reforms were initiated in 1991, when he was Finance Minister, with sceptics opposing opening up of the economy.

Asked whether his interview to a newspaper where he had dared the Left over the nuclear deal had precipitated the situation, Singh said, "I don't think I have overstepped. I was responding to a public statement by the four Left parties. I am conscious of my responsibilities, what I should say and what I should not say."

"No, I was appealing to their good sense," he said when asked whether he was trying to provoke the Left.

In a veiled reference to the ongoing controversy over the nuclear deal, Singh said, "In politics, we must survive short-term battles to address long-term concerns."
Singh said in coalition politics, there were bound to be differences of perception on issues and efforts were underway to reconcile these.

Emphasising that there was a "vast unfinished agenda" of development and reform for the UPA government, he said there could be no forward movement on this if "we dissipate our energies in meaningless controversies".

The Prime Minister, who is trying hard to convince the Left on the nuclear deal, observed "If all our time and energy is spent in battling the ghosts of the past, how can we hope to do the day's work efficiently?"

Noting that India has great potential, he said "we must show courage in taking actions that the people expect us to take in their long-term and best interests."

He said he was aware of the dictum in politics that one must survive "short-term battles to attain long-term objectives. However, we need to work with one eye on long-term objectives while meeting day-to-day challenges."

Noting that India was "still a poor nation", he said "to be a great nation, we need to improve the quality of life of our people, generate more employment, improve productivity, educate all our children and eradicate mass poverty."

Observing that in "competitive politics", politicians tend to become "short-term maximisers", he said "we need people who can think for the nation" and not just for a section of society, region, religion, vested interest or for short-term gains.
The Prime Minister said the country was on the threshold of a new era of social and economic development, witnessing "unprecedented" sustained high growth of 9 per cent for the last five years.

"Over the last three years, we have brought back into sharper focus the issues of critical importance for the development of vast majority of our people," he said.

But there is "a long road to travel to join the ranks of even the newly-industrialised developing economies," Singh said while cautioning against resting on "our laurels or take successes for granted".

Noting that India was "still a poor nation", he said "to be a great nation, we need to improve the quality of life of our people, generate more employment, improve productivity, educate all our children and eradicate mass poverty."

He said there were vital areas of the economy waiting to be reformed and taken forward and listed these as agriculture, rural development, infrastructure, power, education, health and public service delivery.

Expressing particular concern about rural development and education, the Prime Minister said these will remain the key focus areas of the government for a long time.

"We have to reduce the development gap between rural and urban areas, between the more and less developed regions of our country. These are going to be enduring goals," he said.

He talked about his government's resolve to ensure empowerment of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, women and minorities through education.

Recalling his Independence Day address, he said India needs a new revolution in modern education.