New Delhi: Taking a tough stand today Congress president Sonia Gandhi has reportedly summoned HRD Minister Arjun Singh a day after he proposed AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi's name for prime ministership.

Sources told a private TV news channel Times Now that Arjun Singh was carrying a recording of his statement to explain the matter to the Congress president.

Earlier, senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee came out openly in support of Rahul Gandhi being made the prime ministerial candidate in the next Lok Sabha polls.

“Arjun Singh has done nothing wrong in suggesting that Rahul Gandhi be made the prime ministerial candidate. Always the leadership goes to the youth. It is a universal truth," he had said when asked about Singh's comments on projecting Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial face, an idea that drew immediate support from ally and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

In a virtual snub to senior leaders like Arjun Singh and Pranab Mukherjee, the Congress on Tuesday distanced itself from suggestions to project Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate, dubbing the exercise as "sycophancy".

"Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi have always kept away from an environment of sycophancy," AICC spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters.

Natarajan caused a flutter as she read out from a prepared statement at the party briefing saying the AICC would like to put an end to all speculations. The AICC statement is being seen as a signal to discourage such moves to avoid any controversy within the party and the coalition.

"It is not appropriate to spread political speculation in this way," she said. Her statement came close on the heels of Singh and Mukherjee as also key ally DMK rooting for Rahul as prime ministerial candidate in the next Lok Sabha elections. Natarajan said the UPA government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 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," she said.

Source : Agencies