Prime minister Manmohan Singh offered a combative self at his first press conference of the UPA government’s second term here on Monday when he asserted he is not going to retire as he has got some unfinished tasks to complete but said he is ready to make way for younger leadership if the Congress party so desires.

"I have been given this task (prime ministership). It is still unfinished. Till I finish the tasks there is no question of retirement," 77-year-old Singh said to a query by a newsman if the thought of retirement ever crossed his mind in the last six years and how he overcame it.

On whether he would make way for Rahul Gandhi during his current tenure, Singh said he was ready to make place for "anybody" whom the Congress party decides. "Let me say that I sometimes feel that younger people should take over as when the Congress party makes that judgement and I will very happy to make place for anybody the Congress party" decides, Singh said, adding that Rahul Gandhi was "very qualified" to join his cabinet and he had talked to him about it several times but he wanted to focus more on building the party. "Whenever he (Rahul) is ready, he would be an appropriate addition to the cabinet," the Prime Minister said.

Reacting strongly to a question whether there was a deal with BSP chief Mayawati and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to garner support during the recent opposition-sponsored cut motions in Lok Sabha, he said "There was no deal.... Whatever misconceptions you have in your heart, kindly get rid of them," Singh said. He also refuted the charge that the government had misused the CBI. Opposition parties, led by BJP, had alleged that the government had used the CBI to pressurise Mayawati, Yadav and RJD chief Laloo Prasad, all of whom are facing disproportionate assets cases, to win their support.

At the 75-minute press conference - his third in the capital since first becoming prime minister in 2004 - Singh scotched speculation of "mistrust and distrust" between him and party president Sonia Gandhi, saying that there was "not an iota of truth" in that.

Taking the upper hand on the issue of cabinet colleagues airing differences in public, he said it would be right if they expressed opposing views inside the cabinet, ``It is not good that ministers should air their differences in public, ’’ he said when asked to react on some ministers openly differing with the government's viewpoints on various issues.

Pointing out that cabinet meetings were being held every week, he said, "For the past six years, our cabinet has met almost on schedule every week. So, the ministers have enough opportunity to air their views. "If the views are aired in the cabinet, I think that is the right thing to do," Singh said.

His reaction assumes significance against the backdrop of railway minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee opposing the union government's decision to carry out joint security operations against maoists in West Bengal.

When asked if he missed the structured support of the Left parties, something that he enjoyed during UPA’s first tenure beginning 2004: "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride", Singh quoted an oft-used idiom to indicate that it was a ‘wish’ that is difficult to achieve. He, however, quickly added that he would welcome all like-minded parties, which supported the government's policies of "inclusive growth" to join hands to carry them forward. When asked about his legacy, he said he was not bothered. “I have a task to accomplish and I am doing that. It is for historians to assess what I have done," Singh said.