No contradition in stands of party, PM on power centres: Cong

Congress today ruled out any contradiction between the party's stand on "two power centres" and the comments by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dismissing the debate on the issue as "useless" while it was evasive on projection of Rahul Gandhi as its face in Lok Sabha polls.
"Prime Minister has not made any statement, which is contradictory to what party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi had said. There is no contradiction between the party and the government. If you see the histroy of Congress, Prime Minister and Party President had always been separate persons," party spokesperson Rashid Alvi told reporters.
He was asked whether the party agrees with the Prime Minister or with Dwivedi who had said that the two power centres was an "ideal model" for future also.

Alvi said, "When we are talking about decentralising the power, his (Dwivedi's ) statement is right. He is correct when he says that it is good even for future."
He at the same time countered suggestions that Rahul Gandhi had yesterday ruled himself out of Prime-Ministerial race by saying that that whether he will become Prime Minister or not was "irrelevant" and "all smoke".
"Rahul Gandhi did not say that. He said that is not important whether he becomes Prime Minister or not. On the other side (in the BJP), you see so many people fighting to become Prime Minister.

"He (Gandhi) did not say that talks about his becoming Prime Minister are irrelevant. He only said that his becoming or not becoming the Prime Minister is not so important," the Congress spokesperson said.

Earlier, the Prime Minister, who was interacting with the mediapersons at Rashtrapati Bhavan after presentation of Padma Awards, dismissed as "hypothetical" a question as to whether he would accept a third term in office, adding "we are yet to complete this term."
Pressed further by reporters on whether he was ruling himself out, Singh remarked cryptically, "I am not ruling it in, I am not ruling it out."

The Prime Minister, at the same time, also said he would welcome "any day" Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister.
His comments assume significance in the backdrop of a clamour in the Congress for projecting 42-year-old Rahul Gandhi as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha elections next year.