Will miss working with you: Barack Obama bids goodbye to Manmohan Singh
New Delhi: US President Barack Obama called Manmohan Singh on Saturday congratulating him for his tenure at the country’s prime minister for 10 years.
In a phone call to Singh, Obama said, “ Your tenure has been good for india and India-US relations. It has been a great pleasure to serve with you. There are very few people in public life that I've admired or appreciated more.”
Obama also said that he would miss working with Singh on a day-to-day basis. “Get some rest and I hope to see you soon,” Obama said.
Thanking Singh for fostering bilateral talks strengthening Indo-US relations, Obama said that his country’s positive relationship with India would not have been possible without Singh’s commitment, vision and leadership.
"Your leadership has been an important factor in evolving a more cooperative framework in addressing global challenges. We have made significant progress over the last five years across the full spectrum of our relationship.”
Singh, the accidental politician who came from an economic background, demitted office as prime minister after 10 years at the helm leaving behind a mixed bag in governance.
Huge scams that surfaced during UPA II may have undone the good work of the 81-year-old leader, who had achieved the distinction of serving two continuous full terms as Prime Minister, only one to do so after the first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's 17 years in office.
Architect of economic reforms, he entered politics at the height of the 1991 economic crisis when late Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao inducted him into the government as Finance Minister.
A technocrat who had occupied various positions including as Reserve Bank Governor and Secretary General of the South-South Commission, he had earned a name for probity and integrity that made him the automatic choice for Sonia Gandhi when she decided to renounced the post of Prime Minister.
Taking over as Prime Minister from the NDA government in the aftermath of the 2002 post-Godhra riots and a surcharged communal atmosphere, Singh's administration brought in a sense of balance in the situation.
Despite pulls and pressures from allies, especially the Left parties, Singh displayed considerable determination to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal and to end the sanctions regime against India even unmindful of the threats to his government.
A renowned economist, his governments also delivered a robust 8.5 per cent GDP growth for most of his tenure but the scams--2G, CWG and Coal block allocations--and the resultant policy paralysis of the government stymied his performance.
