Cong to pursue reform policy: Manmohan

"Disinvestment, yes. Privatisation, we will have to think. You will have to make a distinction between disinvestment and privatisation," senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh, who is tipped to become finance minister, said after the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting which elected Sonia Gandhi as its leader.

Even BJP was against privatisation of ONGC, Singh said adding disinvestment upto 51 per cent of government equity in oil companies was a possibility.

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The oil industry was "strategic". The oil companies were also profit-making companies. If they can perform and compete against private oil companies, he wondered why should they be privatised.

"We are not for privatisation as an ideology," he said indicating Congress would not be averse to pursuing this reform measure where privatisation and disinvestment were in the interest of the country, helped raise resources and provided more elbow room to public sector undertakings.

Asked what would be the economic agenda of the new Congress-led coalition government, Singh said "we will have to move further on road to peace, prosperity and economic growth."

"We can't be still and static and provide all answers. We have to progress all around. We have to ensure whatever reforms we contemplate, they do address the concerns of the people, our parties and our workers, concerns of social safety net", he said implying that his government would pursue reforms with a human face.

Singh also said he would lay emphasis on addressing the concerns of social sector and infrastructure development.

To a question if economic reforms pursued by the NDA would be continued, Singh said "Life is not static. If there are aberrations, they needed to be corrected."

Asked if there would be any dilution in Congress' reforms agenda in the face of the alliance with Left parties, Singh said the Common Minimum Programme was being worked out and it would take a few days to complete it.

Singh is heading the committee which is entrusted with the task of preparing the Common Minimum Programme. It also includes senior Congress leader Pranab Mukharjee and Jairam Ramesh.