In possibly the first ever interview given by a Congress prime minister to RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya, Manmohan Singh has said he does not view the Opposition as his ‘‘enemy’’ but regretted that Parliament was not allowed to function despite ‘‘decent’’ leaders like A.B. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani being in the other side.Asserting that he was unperturbed by the ‘‘foul language’’ used against him, Singh said he was more concerned about tackling issues like inflation and corruption and speeding up economic and administrative reforms.‘‘My greatest regret is that Parliament was not allowed to function despite decent leaders like Atalji and Advaniji being in the Opposition. At least, I did not expect this from them,’’ he said in his first interview given to any newspaper after assuming office.Had Parliament been allowed to function and he given an opportunity to speak, the Prime Minister said: ‘‘There could have been forward movement on several issues with coordination for the nation’s betterment forgetting petty issues.’’Observing that he did not view the Opposition as an ‘‘enemy’’, he said the Opposition also should not consider that attacking the ruling parties on every issue is its main task.‘‘I believe that the main task of politics is addressing the country’s problems and not to level allegations against each others,’’ Singh said.‘‘My worry is that inflation and corruption should end, economic and administrative reforms should be speeded up,’’ he said. The Prime Minister said the government was making efforts that such a situation evolves and sought the Opposition’s cooperation in this regard.
