Zeenews Bureau
Ludhiana, May 11: Wrapping up Cong’s campaign for the last phase of Lok Sabha election, PM Manmohan Singh on Monday said the UPA is set to form government again even as NDA will collapse in the post-poll scenario. He also wooed Left parties by asserting that all "possibilities" were open for alliances after the May 16.
Addressing a press conference here along with Congress candidate Manish Tewari, Dr Singh said divisions within the BJP-led NDA would become clear after the Lok Sabha poll results are out. He added that the BJD and TDP have already left the Opposition alliance.
"At worst, the Congress will emerge as the single largest party," he told reporters, adding there was no question of backing the Left if it wanted to take power.
The Congress will get more seats so there is no question of supporting the Left, he stated.
Indicating that the Congress was not worried about the faltering United Progressive Alliance, the PM said that he was confident of winning over angry allies.
“The UPA will form the next government… politics is the art of possible,” Dr Singh remarked.
"I always believe that all secular forces have an obligation to work together to give the country a purposeful, secular government," Dr Singh said when asked specifically about whether he would appeal to the Left to again support a UPA government.
Lashes at NDA, Nitish
Taking a dig at the unity show presented by the NDA partners here Sunday, he said a split in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA "is very much there" and would begin to show after the elections.
"It is wrong to say that the NDA has not split. The BJD (Biju Janata Dal) and TDP (Telugu Desam Party) are no longer there," the prime minister told the media after winding up his campaign for the fifth and final phase of polling to be held Wednesday.
Taking on JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, the PM said that the Bihar Chief Minister "professes" to be secular but there are doubts about that after he shared a dais with his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi at an election rally here on Sunday.
"There is no doubt Nitish Kumar professes to be a secular leader," the PM said. However, "a doubt arose" after he saw the two leaders share a platform, he added.
He further said that the speech given by Modi in Ludhiana was a glimpse of the BJP if it came to power at the Centre.
“You heard Narendra Modi`s tone at the NDA rally yesterday. It indicates the kind of government they want to have. This must be avoided at all cost," the PM told the press conference.
“I firmly believe that religion should not enter politics,” he added.
The PM also criticised Nitish for making “false” claims of not receiving any help from the Centre, saying it was the Bihar government which was at fault.
’Sikh-riots non-issue’
Commenting on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Dr Singh said the issue cannot be kept alive for ever.
He further pointed out that his Congress-led government had increased compensation paid to victims of the riots that followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The PM charged that "some people want to keep the issue alive apne dukaan chamkane ke liye (for their selfish interests)". He held that this was of "no profit to either the country or the Sikh community".
He dismissed the Third Front as "already shaky".
To a question whether the Indo-US civil nuclear deal could be a sticky issue on forging ties with the Left, he said, "I think it is not an issue now. It has been signed, sealed and operationalised. It cannot be an issue for dialogue.
"There is a wider purpose to give the country a purposeful, secular government for which all secular forces should vote together," he said.
In response to a question, Dr Singh said that it would be desirable if the number of political parties in the country were fewer. But he hastened to add that he did not want to imply that he was against regional parties, saying, "Regional parties are a reality."
’Not weak but ready for top job’
On the issue of being a `ready` Prime Minister from being a `reluctant` one in 2004, Manmohan Singh said: "I have allowed my name to be forwarded and that means I will do my duty for the country.
"The Congress has declared who will be their prime ministerial candidate. There is no wavering in our commitment on the prime minister."
Asked about the possibilities in case there is a hung parliament, he said: "There is no provision for President`s rule at the centre. There has to be a government at the centre."
Asked about the "weak PM" remark against him by the BJP`s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, Manmohan Singh said: "Whether I am weak or strong should be judged by my performance. Advani should bother about these things also."
On terrorism, he said his government would deal with it firmly "but without targeting any particular community".
IANS inputs
