The Congress side-stepped the controversy over general secretary Digvijay Singh’s comments that Rahul Gandhi is ready to take over the post of the Prime Minister.
Party spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said she saw Rahul Gandhi as the future leader of India, but “Manmohan Singh is our prime minister.” The clarification came after reports that even Rahul Gandhi was taken aback by the comment of Digvijay Singh, a leader known to make bold utterances.
“He is the future leader of the party and of the country,” Jayanti Natarajan said, adding that, for now, there is no question of anyone else being the prime minister. “Manmohan Singh is our PM,” she said, refusing to elaborate on when Rahul would take up the mantle of leadership of the Country.
When asked about whether she welcomed Digvijay’s comment that Rahul should look at the PM post now, she said, “I am not saying anything in welcoming the statement.”
She pointed out that Rahul, son of Rajiv Gandhi, has contributed much to the party already.
“He has contributed in terms of reaching out to farmers, to dalits and to other disadvantaged sections .. in terms of attracting a large number of youth to join the party.. He has emerged as a youth icon, not only of the party, but of the country,” Natarajan said.