New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday said there was no "vacancy" for the prime minister's job, a day after two party leaders and an ally said that Rahul Gandhi was an ideal candidate for the top post.

"I want to put an end to all speculations about prime ministership. There is no vacancy for the post," Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said at a press briefing in parliament.

"Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party MP Rahul Gandhi have always kept away from sycophants," she added. Her statement came a day after Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh suggested Rahul Gandhi's candidature for prime ministership on grounds that he had all the qualities of his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Within hours of Singh's comment, Vayalar Ravi, a Congress leader and the minister for overseas Indian affairs, added: "It is a good suggestion."

The DMK, a partner of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), also came out in support of Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate of the ruling coalition.

DMK patriarch and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi told a television channel in Chennai: "Rahul has the necessary family background and can learn while on the job."

 

Source : IANS