The Hindu : Front Page : ‘No vacancy for PM post’

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Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008
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‘No vacancy for PM post’

Anita Joshua

Congress seeks to end endorsements on Rahul’s candidature

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday sought to end the spate of endorsements from within the senior leadership and the United Progressive Alliance for Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister. “There is no vacancy for the post of Prime Minister,” Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said in response to questions on the party’s stance on the clamour for Mr. Gandhi’s candidature.

Reading out a statement, Ms Natarajan said: “The All India Congress Committee would like to put an end to speculations. It is not appropriate to spread political speculation in this way.”

According to the statement, party president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi have always kept away from an environment of sycophancy.

These observations were pre-faced with a comment on the present dispensation – “The UPA Government, the Prime Minister and his team have put in a magnificent record of performance-oriented achievement. The government has delivered significant welfare measures for the benefit of the most disadvantaged sections of society.”

As to whether the Congress was billing senior Ministers Arjun Singh and Pranab Mukherjee, besides UPA leaders like M. Karunanidhi — who had spoken in favour of Mr. Gandhi’s candidature for the top post — as sycophants, Ms Natarajan said: “I do not want to add or subtract anything from what I have said.” She, however, added that spontaneous outpouring could not be called sycophancy.

Later, the Congress said the comment on sycophancy was not aimed at anyone in particular. In the evening, Mr. Arjun Singh met Ms Gandhi and is understood to have “explained” his comments on Mr. Gandhi. He said his comments were not discussed and sought to clarify that he did not say anything against the Prime Minister as made out in a section of the media.

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