In an effort to check the sliding graph of Congress especially in the wake of the drubbing it got in the recently concluded Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to hold a rare Press conference in January, 2014.
Often criticised for shying away from media in the nearly 10 years of his tenure, the Prime Minister may field questions from the media in the first week of January, sources said on Thursday.
The exact date and venue for the New Year Press conference are being finalised, they said adding the most likely venue would be newly constructed and operationalised National Media Centre.
The proposed Press conference, just months ahead of the lok Sabha polls, will be only the third Press conference in the entire tenure of Singh as the Prime Minister since 2004.
Singh has addressed one presser so far during his second term as the Prime Minister which began in May 2009 even though he has met five Editors and a group of TV Editors once each.
Besides the poll debacle, the UPA Government has failed to check galloping price rise which has hit the common man very hard. Similarly, the ruling combine’s image has taken a beating in the last two years due to corruption cases involving high and mighty and the Prime Minister is perceived as man averse to taking tough decisions.
The UPA Government is also facing criticism on account of “policy paralysis” and Singh is expected to field questions pertaining to all these issues during the Press conference.