Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday vowed to dispel the air of despondency and cynicism in the year gone by and make a new beginning in the New Year with course correction and cleansing of the governing processes.
In a message to the nation on the eve of the New Year, he promised to make "our delivery system work for the aam aadmi." He said it is an occasion to take stock of the year gone by and the challenges that lie ahead.
"Let us make a new beginning to the year. Let us dispel the air of despondency and cynicism. We need to believe in the resilience of our democracy and its capacity to deal with infirmities and shortcomings through course correction," said Dr Singh.
Pledging his government and himself to work with renewed resolve for the people's welfare, he said, "We will redouble our efforts to deal effectively and credibly with the challenges of inflation, cleansing our governing processes, national security and making our delivery system work for the aam aadmi."
Sources said the cleansing of governing processes hints at an anti-corruption ordinance encompassing the five-point agenda unveiled by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the All India Congress Committee plenary held in New Delhi in December. In deference to her wish, the provisions in the Prevention of Corruption Act requiring express permission of the government by the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute ministers and bureaucrats will be removed to bring them to justice fast and bring confidence among the people that their cases of corruption will no longer linger on for years, the sources added.
BJP condemns PM's New Year message
The Bharatiya Janata Party said Dr Singh has "accepted" in his New Year message that his government has failed to control prices, tackle terrorism, and fight corruption.
"Most of the time the Prime Minister's New Year message is a mere ritual. In a way, he has accepted for the first time that his government has failed to control prices of essential commodities, fight terrorism, take the welfare schemes to the poor, and fight corruption," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
