Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ruled himself out of the race for prime ministership after the next elections holding that Rahul Gandhi had "outstanding credentials" for the top job but said Narendra Modi as PM will be "disastrous" for the country. He said the Congress party would decide on its prime ministerial candidate and announce it at an "appropriate" time.
Addressing a press conference, the third in his two terms, he sought to dispel the negative image of his government and the tag of weak prime minister for him after nine and half years in office saying he had done his best and put the country on a good growth momentum. Here are some of his best quotes in his nearly 10 years in power.
* PM on evaluating his ministers: It is an ongoing process. My office monitors it. These things are handled by us.
* India is a hospitable environment for FDI and will continue to be so
* On being called 'an overrated economist and an underrated politician': I have done my best. People doubted our ability to run a coalition government. We may have compromised sometime. But, we have done well.
* I will continue till 2014 Lok Sabha elections. After that I will hand over the baton to other person.
* Hope when history is written, it will be kinder to me than contemporary media
* I hope it will be a UPA chosen Prime Minister and our party will work to that end in the campaign for the General Elections
* I still have 5 months to revive the economy
* Without going into the credentials of anyone, I think it will be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as the PM. Strong leader does not mean you preside over the mass massacre of people in Ahmedabad.
* What Narendra Modi is saying will not materialise,
* On who takes the decisions - 10 Janpath or PMO: It is not a bad thing. It is not a disadvantage. 10 Janpath has backed the government. There were some occasions, they differed with the government.
* On anti-Sikh riot victims: Our government has done quite a lot. I have publicly apologised for what has happened. No compensation is adequate for the loss of life.
* Only time will tell whether AAP is capable of dealing with challenges of economy and polity
* For me the best moment was when we signed the nuclear deal with US
* I consider my job well done.
* I need time to think. The best moment is clinching Nuke deal with the US.
* On AAP and its policies: People have reposed confidence in the AAP in Delhi. Only the time will tell, if they can justify their victory.
* I have tried to serve this country with utmost dedication, I have not used my office to reward my friends or relatives.
* I am the same person as I was 9 years ago, there has been no change.
* I would be the last person to say there is no scope for to do more.
* I have indicated that I will not be a candidate for the PM post. Rahul Gandhi has outstanding credentials. Hope, party will take that decision.
* On scams: I feel sad that I was the one who said that spectrum allocation should be transparent. Opposition has a vested interest. Sometimes the media also plays into their hands.
* Let me say at the outset that I do believe we are set for better times. The cycle of global economic growth is turning for the better.
2006
* The proof of the pudding is in the eating. I have not done anything to deserve such epithets. I should be judged not by what Mr (LK) Advani says but what I do.
* Rome was not built in a day (When his attention was sought on energy situation, infrastructure and fiscal positions of state and the Centre).
2010
* Singh had responded by saying that there was no question of his retiring, until he had completed the work which had been handed over to him.
* The PM had accepted that he had failed to do much in his first year in office, during UPA's second term.
* Singh had hoped that the persisting inflation will cool. And he saw growth in 2010-11 rising to 8.5%.
* I would be the first person to admit that we could have done more.
* Money does not grow on trees
* All of us must learn that the world around us is changing
* We haven't been able to control corruption
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