Manmohan keen on hat-trick

Praises Rahul's CII speech as excellent

New Delhi: Manmohan Singh is not ruling himself out from becoming the Prime Minister for a third-term. "I am not ruling it in, I am not ruling it out," he remarked, when asked whether he will seek a third-term in office. With Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi himself dismissing the question of his becoming the Prime Minister as "irrelevant" in his speech at the CII, the Prime Minister has once again put his candidature on the table. The Prime Minister is encouraged by the statement of the Congress to try out his luck, if Rahul Gandhi backs out.

Responding to questions from media persons on the sidelines of the Padma awards function in the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, Manmohan Singh said he would welcome Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister "any day." Praising Rahul Gandhi's industry pitch, the Prime Minister complimented him for his excellent speech at the CII on Thursday. The dual power-centres issue, which sparked a controversy, was dismissed by the Prime Minister as a "useless debate" and a "media creation." Ironically, it is not the media, but the Congress satraps, who talked about the "dual power-centres" in the Congress.

While initially it was AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, who did not approve of the dual power-centres, later came the statement by AICC Media Department Chairman Janardhan Dwivedi, complimenting the dual power-centres in the Congress, saying that the arrangement has worked very well. While not preferring to comment on the dual power-centres in the government, Manmohan Singh will not mind if, instead of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi becomes his boss in future.

There are many contenders for the post of the Prime Minister in the Congress, though senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar insists that there would be no vacancy for the topmost post, after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. "Rahul Gandhi would certainly take up the post, if the party comes to power," remarked Aiyar.

Though Rahul Gandhi has shown no inclination to become the Prime Minister, sources insist that this is being done deliberately. Depending on the numbers at the hustings, Rahul Gandhi will take the call at the last-minute. If Rahul manages to get a majority for his party, he would undoubtedly take up the reins of the government. If not, the likes of Manmohan Singh will be asked to run the minority government, with the help of the Allies.