New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the first time in a candid admission said that he was unsure of getting a clear majority in the 2009 General Elections.
"Honestly, I was doubtful whether we will have a working majority," the Prime Minister said while speaking at the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2009 awards ceremony to felicitate achievers in different categories.
When asked about Rahul Gandhi, the winner in the politics category, joining the Union Cabinet, the Prime Minister said, "I have tried many times to induct Rahul into my Cabinet, but I have not succeeded so far. I will still try to get him into Cabinet."
"Rahul is not just an inspirational leader, he is a fine gentleman and his best is yet to come," the Prime Minister said, adding that "the best of Rahul is yet to come".
Speaking on the global economic crisis, Dr Manmohan Singh said that 2009 had been a "remarkable year" for India. "India has beaten the prophets of doom," he told the elite audience at the awards function.
The Prime Minister said that now India was the second-fastest growing economy in the world.
The Prime Minister was the chief guest and presented the awards to all the winners.
Giving the trophy to music composer AR Rahman, who won the Indian of the Year award as well as the one for entertainment, said that he was a fan of the Oscar winner. "Rahman's music is sung all over the world," he said.
Teenage badminton prodigy Saina Nehwal, who won the award in sports category, was told by the Prime Minister that he had great expectations from her.
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