New Delhi, Feb. 1: Manmohan Singh came to life just once in the 90-minute news conference he addressed today ? his second as Prime Minister ? at Vigyan Bhavan. The spark was lit not by the “robust” state of the economy, Indo-US relations, the Left or Sonia Gandhi. It was L.K. Advani, proving that the personal is political and the political is personal.

Singh was asked how he felt when the BJP called him “weak” and a “fugitive PM” day after day.

“I have done nothing to deserve these epithets. Whether I am the weakest PM should be judged by my actions. I am not the leader of a party like Advani was. But how strong is Advani? He went to Jinnah’s mausoleum and paid homage to him. The RSS did not like it and where was Advani as a result? It does not speak much of him or his strength,” he said.

Singh was out to prove that far from being a “Teflon-coated” Prime Minister who put the highest premium on his “image”, he would “accept full responsibility for all the acts of omission and commission of my government”. “I am not running away from them.”

As he answered questions on foreign policy and Pakistan, the economy, coalition politics and his relations with the Left, the Congress chief and her son and heir-apparent, Rahul Gandhi, Singh’s forte apparently appeared to be his original calling ? economics.

But asked to list his government’s achievements, the author of liberalisation and globalisation took care to single out the initiatives for the “aam admi” ? the Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Right to Information Act, Bharat Nirmaan and the Urban Renewal Mission. The blueprint of these projects was prepared by the National Advisory Council, headed by Sonia.

Asked who was more powerful, Sonia or the Prime Minister, Singh said: “She is the president of the Congress and the chairperson of the UPA. And in both the capacities she has a legitimate influence on the government’s functioning. For me, she is a source of strength. Mrs Gandhi takes upon herself the tasks which if I were to perform, I would be less effective.”

Singh was unapologetic while defending his government’s positions on sticky issues like the defreezing of Quattrocchi’s accounts, Volcker and the Buta verdict. On the Supreme Court’s order against the Bihar Assembly dissolution, he said: “We respected the decision. But the Supreme Court had two opinions which shows that even in the judiciary, there is a difference of opinion and perception. This has to be taken into account. When we took the decision to dissolve the Assembly, we did the right thing on the basis of available evidence.”

Finally, asked how many marks he would give his government, Singh’s riposte was: “The last time I made the comment (6/10), I was harshly criticised by our own party people. This time I am wiser. It is for you to decide how well I perform.”