AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh has been in the news for provoking a debate in and outside his party on the issue of Maoism, encounter killings and his own refusal to hold any official position in the government till 2013. In an interview with FE?s Nistula Hebbar, Singh shares his views on price rise, why he feels that there is no anger on the streets despite high prices and how he is still on talking terms with home minister P Chidambaram Excerpts:

How do you think the government is tackling inflation and price rise?

Successive governments have been witness to the phenomenon of price rise. The issue has over the years been tackled looking at the prevailing situation. There have been several factors influencing prices, including the recent drought, global prices and inadequate handling by the food departments of different states, which means ineffective control over black marketeers and hoarders. But at the same time, when the Opposition has been drumming up protests, we don?t see such great anger on the streets. I would attribute this plainly to the effects of the sixth pay commission, the rise in rural wages due to the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the backward states grant funds etc. The last two have increased daily wages to such an extent that even in Punjab and Haryana, heavy bargaining on better living conditions with migrant labour from UP and Bihar is the norm. Higher wages, cooked food and even access to colour TV sets are promised.

PMEAC chairman C Rangarajan has said prices could have been cooled if stocks of food grain were moved fast enough when prices first started rising?

It may be a reason, since it is Rangarajan who has said it, but the effect would have been confined to only rice and wheat. What about pulses and sugar, which also saw skyrocketing prices? These cooled only after certain global trends stabilised.

You met agriculture minister Sharad Pawar shortly after he asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he wanted to be divested of a couple of portfolios. What do you think of his handling of this portfolio?

I keep meeting him, he is an old friend. You should not forget the fact that he has not been keeping well. It goes to his credit that despite this he has not missed a single Parliament session or other works. He has been asking the Prime Minister for a cut in his workload for almost a year.

What about your other friend, home minister P Chidambaram? Have you met him after the controversy?

P Chidambaram and I are old friends and we remain friends. Of course we?ve met and both of us are on cordial terms . I stand by what I wrote and such things are all right between friends. Unfortunately because of that one paragraph all the other things I wrote in that article was obscured.

You?ve been accused of pandering to terrorists by the Opposition, because of your visit to Azamgarh.

I went to Azamgarh because I wanted to know how did one of the most secular cities, a city of art, culture and poetry suddenly be known as the centre for terror. I met families of the 26 boys who have been charged for being involved in cases related to terror after the Batla house encounter. From the very beginning I have been raising the issue as to how can anyone be shot in the head in a face to face encounter.. This is not to belittle the martyrdom of Mr ( M C ) Sharma, whom I hold in high esteem. All these 26 boys are those whose numbers were on the mobile sets of those boys who were killed. To the best of my knowledge, none had been said to be previously involved in a crime. I told the families that though there was no question of a judicial inquiry and I could plead their case with the government for a speedy trial. Significantly, my visit their was opposed by both the Ulema Council and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Finally, why have you decided to stay away from any official post for 10 years and what do you look forward to in December 2013, when these 10 years end?

I decided to stay away because I felt someone had to be accountable for performance, this was my way of being accountable. As for what lies ahead in 2013 it is up to my leader Sonia Gandhi to decide what assignment she gives me,

other than that my own preferrence would remain for organisational work.