PM Manmohan Singh to chair his last cabinet meeting today

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will on Tuesday chair his last cabinet meeting as he prepares to demit office on 17 May, a day after the Lok Sabha Election results are declared. [caption id=“attachment_1520881” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. PTI[/caption] At the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs meeting, Singh is likely to clear Foreign Direct Investment in the pharma sector, NDTV reports. Later this evening, he is also expected to hold a farewell gathering at his official residence - 7 Race Course Road, for his staff. On Wednesday, UPA Chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi will host a dinner at her residence - 10 Janpath - in honour of Singh. He is likely to be presented with a memento signed by all members of the Congress Working Committee and Union ministers in honour of his contribution. At a press conference earlier this year, Singh, who has headed the council of ministers for two consecutive terms, decided against running for a third term. In his address, he said he would prefer to mentor Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi should the UPA be given a third term. That, however, appears very unlikely, if exit polls across news channels are to be believed. Singh has been criticised for his failure to be a ‘vocal prime minister’ and has also been seen as a ‘weak’ leader when his government was accused of multiple scams. “I do not believe that I have been a weak Prime Minister …. I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or for that matter the Opposition in Parliament…. Given the political compulsions, I have done the best I could do. “…I have done as well as I could do according to the circumstances…It is for history to judge what I have done or what I have not done,” Singh had said addressing a press conference, the third in his two terms. Singh has been credited with giving the country its highest ever growth rate in a 10-year period, pushing for the contentious India-US civil nuclear deal as well as instituting several reform measures. On 16 May, a day before he demits office, Singh will address the nation in a farewell speech where he is likely to highlight his government’s achievements over the last ten years. Singh, who was elected as India’s 13th prime minister, will however continue to be a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha as he was re-elected from Assam in 2013. On Thursday, Singh will move into 3 Motilal Nehru Marg, a sprawling type-VIII bungalow spread over 3.25 acres, which was until recently the home of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.