Sikh sectarian violence would be checked: PM

New Delhi, May 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the Sikh sectarian violence in Punjab and Haryana would be checked and expressed confidence over bringing down inflation to 5 per cent in the next two months and ironing out the differences over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Talking to reporters at Rashtrapati Bhavan after Ms V Radhika Selvi (DMK) was sworn in as a Minister of State, Dr Singh refused to take any questions on the UPA's Presidential nominee, stating that discussions with the UPA allies and the supporting parties were at a preliminary stage and it was too premature to mention any name.

Asked about the sectarian violence, the Prime Minister said he had talked to Chief Ministers Prakash Singh Badal of Punjab and Bhupinder Singh Hooda of Haryana in the past two days and the Centre was in constant touch with the administration of the two states.

The two states had been assured of all help and asked to take adequate measures to restore normalcy.

Admitting that the rising prices of essential commodities continued to be an area of concern, the Prime Minister said the measures taken by his government had started yielding results with inflation showing a downward trend. On the prospects of finalising the 123 agreement with the United States to operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal for cooperation on the civil side, he said ''serious negotiations'' were on and he was hopeful of a positive outcome.

Asked about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's letter to him seeking linking of peninsular rivers, Dr Singh said work was on despite concerns over the environment and sharing of waters. He, however, acknowledged that ''these are complicated issues,'' indicating that it would take time.

To questions on UPA celebrating its third anniversary of its rule at the Centre and its likely areas of focus in the remaining two years, he merely listed the flagship programmes of his government, including employment guarantee, urban renewal mission and schemes for health and education.

UNI

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