Tamil Nadu wishes to see Rahul Gandhi as PM: DMK chief Stalin

New Delhi: Days after M K Stalin created ripples within Opposition circles by proposing Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as a prime ministerial candidate for 2019, the DMK chief on Sunday clarified that he was talking about the "aspirations of people of Tamil Nadu".

"I had said this about Rahul Gandhi in Chennai, what was wrong in it? It is the wish and aspiration of the people in TN. But in West Bengal, they have decided to finalise this after the election. It is their wish," he was quoted as saying by a news agency.

Addressing an event in Chennai in December to unveil the statue of his father, K Karunanidhi, Stalin had proposed the "candidature of Rahul Gandhi from Tamil Nadu" as the new prime minister. Asking Rahul to give the nation "good governance" and "defeat the fascist" NDA government, Stalin appealed to all Opposition parties to strengthen the hands of the Congress president and "save the nation". His remarks, however, caught many in the Opposition by surprise.

Sources had said that other parties, such as the SP, BSP, TMC and NCP, harbour reservations over declaring a PM candidate so early on. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP had said the issue doesn't need any further deliberation as the

Congress itself has declared that Opposition parties would pick their prime ministerial candidate post the general polls if they were to form the government.