New Delhi:
Public differences between the party and the government, and more often between senior Congress leaders have created several controversies - like the Home Minister being criticized by Digvijaya Singh and Janardhan Dwivedi for his remarks on saffron terror. For the first time, the Prime Minister has commented on the spats. "I can't say that I will shut up every colleague in my cabinet," he told a group of editors.
"There is no single unitarian view," he said. He also emphasized that these differences of opinion existed in the time of Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru, as well as Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai. "My Cabinet is more cohesive than even Nehru's," said Dr Manmohan Singh.
So what happens in Cabinet meetings, where ministers have been known to vociferously challenge each other? "I encourage each one to speak," said the PM, stressing, "I sum up the views of the Cabinet."
He denied that there is a disconnect between the Congress and the government, and added that differences of opinion are "not necessarily a bad thing."
The PM indicated that he would "look at" a cabinet reshuffle before the next session of Parliament begins on November 7. "I would like to reduce the average age of my Cabinet," he said. (
Read: Prime Minister indicates Cabinet reshuffle soon)
Recently, Digvijaya Singh has taken on P Chidambaram, who said in a speech last month that "there is a new phenomenon of saffron terror." Singh retaliated by saying he objected "to the use of colour for terror." The Home Minister retorted that he does not have the patent on the term saffron terror - his colleagues, Chidambaram argued, had used the same term earlier.
Other public clashes have seen Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh versus cabinet colleagues for holding up clearances for new projects.