Dr Singh is young, says Rahul

Attacking BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday questioned his credentials as a 'strong leader' saying he was the Home Minister of the country when terrorists were
released at Kandahar.

Quoting Advani that he did not know about the release of the terrorists, Rahul, addressing a press conference said, "There are two possibilities. (Either) he is not telling the truth or his senior leader...the PM...Vajpayee did not trust him."

"You should have resigned if the PM did not have faith in you," he said, he said.

Mocking Advani, he asked, "Did he buckle under pressure when Kandahar happened or Vajpayee not believe in him. I want to know which is correct?"

Talking about his sister Priyanka's statement that she wanted to see him (Rahul) as the PM, the young leader said that he did not think his sister could have made such a statement.

"There is a twist to that. My family has always seen politics as (something) what you do for the country rather than where you end up. Rahul Gandhi becoming PM is not an important issue...," the AICC general secretary said, brushing aside the matter.

Backing the Prime Minister, he hailed Manmohan Singh and described him as "young". He referred to the policies of the party and the stand of Singh on various issues to buttress his point that Singh was young.