PM starts New Year with files and family

NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh started the New Year on a “quiet” note, reading through some files at his official 7, Race Road Course residence, his aides said Saturday.

“The prime minister did not visit his South Block office. He had asked for some files to be brought to his residence, and had a quite day with his family,” a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office said.

“He had already met most of his senior colleagues on Thursday and Friday.”

In a message to fellow citizens Friday, Manmohan Singh — who has been in office since May 2004 and now into his second term — had called for a new beginning to the year and had also said that people’s welfare will be his top priority.

“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,” he said.

“I want to assure all our citizens that my government and I will work with renewed resolve for the welfare of our people,” 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 (the common man).”

The prime minister has been under attack from the opposition and the media for being slow in responding to the challenges of corruption and policy execution and is widely expected to take some proactive measures to dispel the current atmosphere of public despondency and cynicism.