"I leave it for the people of India to judge whether I am the weakest prime minister or not. Advani was presenting himself as a strongman but what happened to him after he went to the Mazar of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi and made some remarks. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh did not like him and where is he now," Dr Singh asked amidst laughter from the media persons.
He dismissed the suggestion that the congress party lacks talent and hence he was retaining the portfolio of the external affairs. "Prime minister Nehru had also retained the external affairs portfolio for sometime," he said.
Asked if he was retaining it so that when Natwar Singh comes back he can hand it back to him, Dr Singh said, "Right now investigations are going on on the Paul Volcker report. Let us wait for the findings," he said.
In his opening remarks Dr Singh claimed that his government had taken important steps to make the world adopt a more friendly approach towards India. "We have been able to improve our relations with many of our neighbours, including our biggest neighbour, China.
We are pursuing a composite dialouge with Pakistan with the understanding that in South Asia we have not just shared a part, but a shared future and shared destiny. The development and well being of all our neighbours is in our interests," he said.
He pointed out to newsmen that King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-of Saudi Arabia had never signed a joint communique with any other head of state. "It was a unique honour for me," he said.
Talking about the forthcoming visit of US President George Bush he said that his schedule has not yet been given a final shape. He said this in response to a question whether the Bush would address the joint session of the Indian parliament.
