Conspiracy to destabilise his government and force an early election, says Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said there was a conspiracy to destabilise his government and force an early election. Speaking to reporters on-board his aircraft, while returning from his US visit, Singh said that his government will stay the course and complete its five-year term.

Singh, who will have to reconcile sharp differences within his Cabinet and deal with the fallout of the Supreme Court order in Subramanian Swamy's petition, rejected suggestions of a rift in the Cabinet in the wake of the unveiling of a Finance Ministry note which suggested that P Chidambaram should have tried to ensure auction of 2G spectrum. But he admitted that there could be a problem of perception about his government and that there was a need to correct it.

"I suspect there are other forces which want to destabilise our polity," he said when asked about an impression that the UPA-II government had lost the momentum and alleged that the current crisis that the government faces was engineered by outside forces.

The prime minister, who targeted the Opposition, said nothing should be done to weaken the fight against issues such as inflation. "I have said this in Parliament that we have the mandate of the people to govern for five years and the Opposition should wait for two-and-a-half years. They have got some weak points of our government and think that (they) can force elections. This is not the way. This government has the mandate for five years. It will stay its course," he said.

Singh made light of reported differences in the government. "I am not aware of the ministerial fight you are talking about...we are a cohesive government. We shall give cohesive governance. There is no room for dissension in my Cabinet," Singh said.