Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to TV news channel CNN-IBN about post-poll alliance with the Left and who should be the Congress prime minister-in-waiting.

Rahul has all the qualities of a good PM

Business Standard

DP Tripathi, general secretary, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), tells AASHA KHOSA there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the national level.

&#39;UPA will need both the Left and BJD&#39;

As governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) till September last year, YV Reddy was in-charge of monetary policy at a time when the economy grew at its fastest pace ever. Ahead of his book launch in New Delhi, he tells John Samuel Raja and Sapna Dogra that the government should convince financial markets that the high fiscal deficit is temporary.

'Banking reforms, high fiscal deficit cannot go together'

Just a few hours after taking charge as the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), J S Sarma talked to Ishita Russell on the road map for the regulator in a complicated telecom world.

'4G tech a priority area'

Varadaraja Perumal, former chief minister of Sri Lanka&rsquo;s North-Eastern Province and leader of the Eelam People&rsquo;s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), said the death of LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, who led a ruthless movement for a Tamil Eelam (homeland) in Sri Lanka, has left the rebel outfit with no political future.

&#39;Prabhakaran has left behind a fragmented society&#39;

Sultan Ahmed got elected to the Lok Sabha from Uluberia by defeating CPI-M&rsquo;s senior leader Hannan Mollah who had won from that seat for eight consecutive terms.Rajat Roy speaks to Sultan Ahmed about his ideas of how he would like to work for the people.

'Primary thrust is on rural development'

The country&rsquo;s new anti-trust body, Competition Commission of India (CCI), is all set to take up its first cases. In an interview with Sapna Dogra Singh, CCI chairman Dhanendra Kumar says the commission would not act as a roadblock to industry.

'We don't wish to be roadblocks to industry'

Both national and state-specific factors are responsible for the poor performance of the party in the polls, Shyamal Chakraborty, a member of the CPI(M) central committee, tells RAJAT ROY.

&#39;The election setback will do us good&#39;

The World has changed many times since Pranab Mukherjee first became finance minister 27 years ago. But right now he is in the midst of the most momentous changes. With an Interim Budget and an election victory behind him, and a full-year budget ahead, Mukherjee would presumably have lots on his mind, but understandably be coy of revealing much. Saubhadro Chatterji caught up with the finance minister and tried to decode the signals.

&#39;It cannot be a stop-go-stop-go on reforms&#39;

A military solution to Naxalism is neither possible nor desirable, Dr Binayak Sen, a doctor and an activist, tells SREELATHA MENON, after his release from two years of detention.

&#39;There is no way out but struggle&#39;

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based body that is committed to the market economy and democracy, has been at the forefront in analysing and suggesting solutions to the ongoing global economic crisis. Thelma J Askey, deputy chief of this 30-member body and a career diplomat, was in India last week to hold discussions with senior government officials. In an interview with Rituparna Bhuyan and John Samuel Raja D, she says countries should keep the markets open so that innovators can emerge from the current crisis.

'Markets should remain open, so that innovators can emerge'

Vayalar Ravi, Congress leader and Union parliamentary affairs minister, says the top Congress leadership is determined to oust the CPI(M) from the Left strongholds of Kerala and West Bengal. He refuses to agree that the country&rsquo;s economy is safer because of the Left&rsquo;s intervention, yet he tells Saubhadro Chatterjee that the Left parties had cooperated with the UPA government except last year&rsquo;s trust vote in Parliament.

'Whatever the Left may dream, India is not Cuba or Venezuela'

Venu Srinivasan, the new president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), says though the economy has started stabilising, India sill faces many challenges like building world-class infrastructure. Srinivasan, who is also the managing director of Chennai-based two-wheeler maker TVS Motor, tells Sapna Dogra Singh that immediate monetising of the fiscal deficit is needed to help private investment and boost economy.

'This is the best time to invest in infrastructure'

Apart from being general secretary of the Shiv Sena, Sanjay Raut wears many other hats for the party &mdash; as the executive editor of its mouthpiece &lsquo;Samana&rsquo;, spokesman, a Rajya Sabha MP, but more importantly, a confidant of the party&rsquo;s executive president Uddhav Thackeray. The man who almost successfully rocked the boat of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance by advocating closer ties with the Nationalist Congress Party and its president Sharad Pawar, tells Makarand Gadgil that his party wholeheartedly supports senior BJP leader L K Advani&rsquo;s candidature for the prime ministership and there is no question of supporting anyone else for the post.

'Advanji will be the next prime minister'

The first round of bidding for the city gas distribution (CGD) project has ended recently and downstream regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board is in the process of inviting bids for more cities. L Mansingh, the Board chairman, speaks to Ajay Modi about the challenges and opportunities in the CGD business.

&#39;40-45 cities will get CGD networks by 2010&#39;

LK Advani, the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), describes his party&rsquo;s manifesto for the coming Lok Sabha elections as &ldquo;not a routine document&rdquo; and that it is aimed at achieving the party&rsquo;s envisioned ideal state &mdash; the Ram Rajya. Interacting with reporters while announcing the party&rsquo;s election manifesto, the senior BJP leader also touched upon issues like its promises of good governance and the emergence of the Third Front.

'No scope of Third Front without BJP, Congress'

PDP is fielding candidates on all the six Lok Sabha seats. We are not entering into any local alliance, although many analysts are trying to read much into our party&rsquo;s recent gesture of playing a role in the victory of a Panthers&rsquo; Party candidate in the Legislative Council election recently.

'Economic issues will dominate poll campaign'

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who sees his best chance to have a shot at prime ministership in post-poll scenario, tells Makarand Gadgil about his political options and says that the person who is acceptable to all allies will become the prime minister
It is perceived by many that the country is going to face a situation like 1996-1998, when many so-called third front parties came together and formed the government on outside support of the

&#39;UPA will need support of Left, secular parties&#39;

Mallika Sarabhai, danseuse and independent candidate from Gandhinagar, feels that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s development claims are hollow. In a conversation with Sreelatha Menon, Sarabhai says she is fighting to win.

'I am in politics for good'

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal tells AASHA KHOSA the agenda for the coming election is development.

'We don't believe in raising emotional issues'

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, foreign minister of Pakistan, spoke to Karan Thapar on the CNN-IBN programme, Devil&rsquo;s Advocate, telecast on Sunday night and to be repeated on Monday.

'We are fully committed to fight terror ...all stakeholders in Pakistan are on board'

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Page 105 - Economy Interviews

Rahul has all the qualities of a good PM

'UPA will need both the Left and BJD'

'Banking reforms, high fiscal deficit cannot go together'

'4G tech a priority area'

'Prabhakaran has left behind a fragmented society'

'Primary thrust is on rural development'

'We don't wish to be roadblocks to industry'

'The election setback will do us good'

'It cannot be a stop-go-stop-go on reforms'

'There is no way out but struggle'