"Hasty" judgements at times due to pressure from press, civil society: PM

NEW DELHI: Free press and active civil society put pressure on the government for early and decisive action in addressing weaknesses in governance and some times it leads to "hasty judgement", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said tonight.


"We are the world's largest democracy with a very free Press and an increasingly active civil society movement. These are our strengths," Singh said.

"But they do put pressure for early and decisive action on all these fronts. This sometimes leads to impatience and hasty judgement," he said while referring to the issues related to weaknessess in governance, particulary in delivery of public services.

He said the weaknesses in governance erode trust and faith in government and "we cannot, as a people, afford such an outcome."

"The problems are not new nor are they unique to India. Indeed, consciousness about these problems and the demand to remedy them has risen all over the world. This is especially so in democracies," he said.

Singh was also referring to the elimination of corruption in the procurement and allocation decisions of the government.