I’M reAdy for PM JoB, SAyS rAhul

BENGALURU — In a statement that is bound to ruffle the feathers in the opposition, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he would become the Prime Minister if the Congress emerges as the largest party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be the Prime Minister again.

“Well that depends... that depends on how well the Congress does. I mean... the Congress, if it’s the biggest party, yes,” he said in reply to a question at an interaction with eminent citizens here.

This is the second time Rahul Gandhi has expressed his readiness to be the Prime Minister if the Congress gets a majority in next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

In September last year, speaking to students in Berkley, he had said that he was “absolutely ready” to be the prime minister.

The statement assumes significance in the context of parties that want to keep equidistance from both the BJP and Congress and are working for a Third Front or Federal Front, which would not want to work under Gandhi.

Reacting to his remarks, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “As far as Rahul Gandhi’s desire to become the Prime Minister is concerned, that comes with a sense of amusement to us.

“It has an entertainment value... He, earlier as the Vice President of the party, had been responsible for Congress election disaster and as President of Congress also. Election after election, a string of elections, he has lost for the Congress,” he said. —