INDIA –Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced that he will retire from office even if his Congress party wins the next election.

The 81-year old veteran politician has been the prime minister for almost a decade. He is likely to hand over the baton to the deputy leader of the Congress, Rahul Gandihi.

Mr Singh said it would be "disastrous for the country" if opposition leader Narendra Modi were elected PM.

Mr Modi leads the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which recently beat Congress in assembly elections in four politically crucial states.

"Someone who presided over the massacre of innocent people should not be the prime minister," Mr Singh said in uncharacteristically harsh words for Mr Modi.

Mr Singh's announcement that he will not seek a third term was widely expected, especially after his party's defeat in last month's state elections. He acknowledged that he had been unable to tackle corruption and inflation and also generate jobs - all major concerns with the voters. But he said history would judge him kindly.

Manmohan Singh, an economist who was an unexpected choice for the top post in 2004, has been one of India's longest serving prime ministers.

Mr Modi is the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat and has been accused of doing little to stop the 2002 anti-Muslim riots there which left more than 1,000 people dead. Mr Modi has always denied any wrongdoing.