Port Louis (Mauritius), March 31: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said he sees no contradiction between the popular mandate secured by a political party/coalition and market expectations.

In what must be music to the Left?s ears, Singh described the UPA-Left experiment as being ?vital for democratic development not only in India but also in the rest of the world?.

Singh?s submissions on the market, the coalition with the Left and the quality of Indian polity were made yesterday during a wide-ranging interview with a Mauritian daily, Le Mauricien.

The Prime Minister made it clear that he was not market-obsessed ? just as he was not ?unduly disturbed? by the market crash of May 2004, he was not ?excessively moved? by the stock exchange soaring to ?unprecedented heights? after the UPA government presented its second budget.

Singh said the markets should ?ensure that governments do not lose sight of economic fundamentals?, adding that ?if the present government succeeds in providing an effective response to the principal challenges before the country, I have no doubt that the markets would respond suitably?.

Asked what he thought of ?Black Monday?, when the sensex plunged to a historic low on May 17, 2004, shortly after the present government came to power in an upset win, Singh said: ?Markets often tend to react everywhere to political events on the basis of short-term calculations. This is not a value judgement that I make but a factual observation.?

He went on to say there was an ?impression of novelty, of something untried? when the Congress took the Left?s help to form a government.

?These fears, however, were quickly dispelled. In all democracies, governments must remain conscious of the nature of their popular mandate even as they remain sensitive to the reactions of the markets. I do not necessarily see the contradictions between the mandate conferred by the voters and the expectations of the market,? Singh maintained.

On the implications of the UPA-Left arrangement for the growth of the economy, the Prime Minister iterated his view that he had crafted a ?consensual political platform? with his allies, which was based as much on a commitment to an ?open society? as to an open economy.

?We are for freedom of enterprise and the continuation of policies that result in growth higher than what we have known until now. This growth, however, must be shared in a more equitable and humane manner,? said Singh.