Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has declared that he would bow out of office after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and strongly back Rahul Gandhi for the job. While answering on a potential contest between Rahul and Modi, during a media conference in Delhi on Friday, he said that he sincerely believes it will be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.

He said, a strong leader also does not mean one could preside over the killing of innocent citizens in the streets of Ahmedabad. Dr. Singh said, he has full confidence that the next Prime Minister will be from a UPA coalition and that the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has outstanding credentials to be the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also said that any wrong doing in government decisions would be punished through a due process of law.

On the economic front, the Prime Minister said, India's growth momentum will revive soon and the country is set for better times. Dr Singh said, the number of people below poverty line in the country has comedown by 13.8 crores. He promised to roll out more reforms in the coming months. Dr Singh said, the country would continue to provide a hospitable environment for foreign direct investment. Admitting that the worry of rising inflation is legitimate, the Prime minister assured steps would be taken to rein in price rise.