Debate over two power centres useless: PM

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today dismissed as a “useless” the debate over two power centres even as he did not rule out his accepting the third term.

“This is the creation of the media. It is a useless debate,” Mr Singh told reporters here when asked about the issue of two power centres coming into focus after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh raked it up recently.

Digvijaya Singh had said the two power centres — one the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and another the Prime Minister — had not worked well and should not be repeated.

Congress officially rejected this contention of Digvijaya Singh and said it was an “ideal model” for future also.

When asked whether he would accept the third term as Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh said, “it is a hypothetical question... We are yet to complete this term.”

The current term of the government will end in May next year.

Asked whether he was ruling himself out, he said, “I am not ruling it in, I am not ruling it out.”

Queried whether he would welcome Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh replied, “oh yes, any day.”

Gandhi, who was appointed as vice president of Congress in January, has been reluctant to join the government.

Even yesterday he dubbed as “irrelevant” the questions over whether he would become the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister, who was interacting with the media persons at Rashtrapati Bhavan after presentation of Padma Awards, was also asked to comment on Rahul Gandhi’s speech at the CII yesterday to which he remarked, “excellent”.