‘Time ripe to project Rahul as Cong’s PM candidate’
23 May 2013 3:17 PM IST
Even as the UPA-2 is celebrating four years in office, a senior Congress leader suggested on Wednesday that the time had come to project Rahul Gandhi as the party’s prime ministerial candidate and that Manmohan Singh had ‘served his ten years.’
Talking to a television news channel, Urban development and parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said the time was ripe to project the Congress vice president as the PM candidate as the next Lok Sabha elections was round the corner. ‘Rahul now has all his ten fingers in, he has served as vice-president and he should be projected as the prime ministerial candidate for the Congress party,’ he said.
However, he added that it was only upto Rahul Gandhi to take a decision on the matter.
Kamal Nath also ruled out early Lok Sabha polls saying that the elections would take place as scheduled.
There has been a growing clamour in the rank and file of the Congress party to officially name Rahul as the PM candidate for 2014 polls. However, the Congress vice president has on more than one occasion made it clear that he was not hankering after the top post.
Moreover, Manmohan Singh on being asked whether he was open for a third term as PM had not ruled himself out of contention. It is said that the Congress would not like to project Rahul as PM now for the next polls as it would undermine the incumbent PM and to a certain extent erode the authority of Manmohan Singh.
ANTONY IS MY GURU, SAYS RAHUL GANDHI
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday described defence minister AK Antony as his ‘guru’.
Gandhi kept a quiet conversation going with Antony when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released the UPA government's ‘Report to the People 2012-13’ at the prime minister's 7 Race Course Road residence.
Asked later what he spoke with Antony, Gandhi told the media: ‘I consider Antony as my guru. I was generally discussing with him...’
Talking to a television news channel, Urban development and parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said the time was ripe to project the Congress vice president as the PM candidate as the next Lok Sabha elections was round the corner. ‘Rahul now has all his ten fingers in, he has served as vice-president and he should be projected as the prime ministerial candidate for the Congress party,’ he said.
However, he added that it was only upto Rahul Gandhi to take a decision on the matter.
Kamal Nath also ruled out early Lok Sabha polls saying that the elections would take place as scheduled.
There has been a growing clamour in the rank and file of the Congress party to officially name Rahul as the PM candidate for 2014 polls. However, the Congress vice president has on more than one occasion made it clear that he was not hankering after the top post.
Moreover, Manmohan Singh on being asked whether he was open for a third term as PM had not ruled himself out of contention. It is said that the Congress would not like to project Rahul as PM now for the next polls as it would undermine the incumbent PM and to a certain extent erode the authority of Manmohan Singh.
ANTONY IS MY GURU, SAYS RAHUL GANDHI
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday described defence minister AK Antony as his ‘guru’.
Gandhi kept a quiet conversation going with Antony when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released the UPA government's ‘Report to the People 2012-13’ at the prime minister's 7 Race Course Road residence.
Asked later what he spoke with Antony, Gandhi told the media: ‘I consider Antony as my guru. I was generally discussing with him...’
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