New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi today (Feb 22, 2004) said that becoming a Prime Minister was not a priority before her and accused BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) of raking up the issue of her foreign origin as the party-led Government at the Centre had "totally failed".

"For me, that is not a priority. Let us see when the time comes," she said in an interview to 'NDTV' when asked why the Congress was not coming forward on the issue of leadership of anti-BJP alliance.

To a query whether she felt that her being born in Italy was a liability, the Congress President said that it might work adversely with some voters but "I have never felt that I am a foreigner. I am an Indian absolutely."

"Wherever I go, especially in rural areas, in the midst of women and less fortunate people, I never feel that I am a foreigner. They never look at me as a foreigner because I am an Indian," Gandhi said.

"In fact, I feel like a foreigner when I go abroad," she said.

"I don't resent when they (BJP) talk about my foreign origin. It makes me laugh. Why should I resent when I completely feel like an Indian," she said.

Asked whether her transition from a foreigner to an Indian had been completed, Gandhi said, "Transition was completed long ago. After being part of a family which took part in the freedom struggle and laid down lives in the service of the nation, I have assimilated and imbibed a certain amount of these feelings."

On her children Rahul and Priyanka joining active politics, she said it was "really silly" to repeat the same answer. (Gandhi's pet answer on such questions is that it was for her children to decide.)

Asked whether as Congress President she feels her children should be more involved in politics, she said, "I don't think I can answer that. I won't."