PM to meet TV editors tomorrow

New Delhi, Feb 15: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been accused by the opposition of remaining silent on various scams haunting his government, will meet editors of television channels on Wednesday for a question-answer session that will be telecast live.

This would be the first such interaction with the media since his government faced one scam after another relating to allocation of 2G spectrum, CWG, Adarsh housing and the latest S-band controversy involving ISRO.

Sources said Singh, who has been targetted by the BJP for inaction and silence, is likely to utilise the opportunity to clear the air.

The press meet at Prime Minister's Race Course Road residence will be telecast live by Doordarshan at 11 AM tomorrow.

During the media interaction taking place just ahead of the budget session of Parliament, the Prime Minister is expected to outline various steps taken by the government to check corruption, sources said.

The Prime Minister had interacted with senior editors of the print media in Sep last year and responded to a range of questions.

In the run-up to the budget session, Congress has given broad indications that it is not averse to a JPC to probe the 2G scam. If the opposition is ready for a prior debate and agree to modalities for such an inquiry.

The Congress top brass including the Prime Minister and party chief Sonia Gandhi had deliberated on the matter at the core group meeting yesterday. To ensure a smooth start to the budget session beginning on Feb 21.

The entire winter session was a washout over the JPC issue.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has convened a meeting of all political parties on Feb 20.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to meet once again leaders of various parties ahead of the session to resolve the issue.

PTI