Will consider issues raised by Rahul on return: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday the issues raised by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi about a controversial ordinance sent to the president would be considered on his return to India.

"The issues raised will be considered on my return to India after due deliberations in the cabinet," said a statement issued by the prime minister after Rahul Gandhi said the ordinance that seeks to protect convicted lawmakers was "nonsense" and, in his personal opinion, "should be torn up and thrown away".

The prime minister who is in the US where he is to hold a bilateral summit meeting with President Barack Obama, said that Rahul Gandhi had written to him on the issue and also made a statement earlier.

"The Ordinance cleared by the Cabinet pertaining to the Representation of the People Act has been a matter of much public debate. The Congress vice president has also written to me on the issue and also made a statement. The government is seized of all these developments. The issues raised will be considered on my return to India after due deliberations in the cabinet," the statement said.