'Is power of PM's chair being used to kill aam aadmi?'

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may have tried to assuage the countrymen on Friday about his government's policies yet his arguments failed to find buyers across the political spectrum.

Let's take a look at the some of the reactions that came shortly after the prime minister finished his 1,427-word address to the nation.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee wondered if the power of the chair was being misused to "finish off the aam aadmi".

"I want to ask -- what is the definition of aam aadmi? What is the definition of democracy? Is it not becoming clear that use of the name of aam aadmi, and misuse of power of chair, is to finish Aam Aadmi? Is it the game plan?" she said on her Facebook page.

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The Communist Party of India-Marxist described the prime minister's address to the nation as an attempt to 'defend the indefensible' and questioned how it could take such decisions when it does not enjoy 'overwhelming' majority in Parliament.

"The prime minister has sought to defend the indefensible steps taken by the government. The prime minister has not answered how he could proceed with these measures when he does not have support of the overwhelming majority in Parliament," CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said.

"Contrary to what he has said, the bulk of diesel is used by farmers irrigating their land and for trucks transporting goods. This price increase will harm farmers and stoke inflation," he said.

He also asked what has stopped the government from slapping high taxes on diesel-run luxury cars and SUVs to discourage their use.

On FDI in retail, he alleged it is well known that the entry of Walmart and other MNC chains will displace small shopkeepers and traders.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party described Dr Singh's speech as 'disappointing and uninspiring', saying that instead of rolling back the hike in diesel price and removing the cap on cooking gas cylinders he has only sought to justify them.

"The prime minister's speech was uninspiring and disappointing. We are not happy about the speech at all. The people were expecting some relief, that he will be taking back the hike in diesel price and the cap on LPG cylinders. But he has only made lame excuses," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

BJP alleged that Dr Singh has only cited the economic crisis when the "real reason" behind the hike is corruption in UPA government.

"The PM could have acted tough on corruption and announced the cancellation of the coal blocks allocations and auctions, which would have given Rs 1.86 lakh crore to the government coffers," Javadekar said.

Terming this as a "failure" of the "economist PM", BJP said while the prime minister should be announcing creation of more jobs, he is banking of foreign retail giants like Walmart to do so in India.

"Walmart is not coming to India for charity. The government is bringing in FDI in multi-brand retail under foreign pressure," Javadekar said.