JOIN USPM promises better governance
Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) here, the prime minister made it clear that it could not be “business as usual” for the new government. “Our first priority will have to be on re-energising Government and improving governance. We have to make government more efficient and effective, more responsive and active,” Singh said after being re-nominated as the CPP leader to lead the new government.
The prime minister sought to reach out to the opposition parties. With the disruptions in the 14th Lok Sabha, apparently weighing heavily on his mind, the Prime Minister hoped that the 15th Lok Sabha would witness “a more cooperative atmosphere and more productive proceedings”. “We will extend a hand of friendship to members of all political parties, cutting across the political spectrum and invite them to play the role of a constructive opposition," Singh said.
The economist Prime Minister also focused on the need for economic reforms, saying that better management of the finances was necessary.
He said said every minister would be asked to set time-bound targets for implementation of the election promises made by the party and the various programmes and policies of each ministry. The government would undertake quarterly review of programme implementation by each ministry, he added.
Earlier, naming Singh as the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said, “his dignified, determined and effective leadership of the government has been an inspiration for all of us and has received overwhelming approval from the people of the country.”
Sonia lauds Singh
Gandhi also hailed Singh's record as prime minister for the past five years and said, "we look forward to his leadership in the coming years."
Expressing her happiness over the presence of several new and younger faces among the elected members, she said, “as party members — whether occupying government office or not, whether having a position in the organisation or not— we have a duty to remain disciplined and united, putting party before self."
“After many years of fractious politics, we should work together with the Parliamentary representatives of all parties towards restoring the decorum of political discourse,” she said. Buoyed over the poll verdict, Gandhi told the meeting “we have seen that notions such as anti-incumbency, and pulls and pressures from caste or region can be overcome by dedication and real work.”
DH News Service