Cong rejects Digvijaya's comment on 'two power centres'

The Congress on Tuesday rejected its general secretary Digvijaya Singh's remarks -- that the model of ‘two power centres’ has not worked well -- asserting that a unique relationship exists between party chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"The relationship which exists between the Congress president and the prime minister today is unique and something which has never been seen before. Perhaps this should be the ideal model for the future also," Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters.

Digvijay Singh had recently dubbed the experiment of ‘two power centres’ in the United Progressive Alliance as a failure and suggested that Rahul Gandhi should not opt to nominate a prime minister if the party gets a majority in the next Lok Sabha polls.

"Personally, I feel this model hasn't worked very well. Because, I personally feel there should not be two power centres and I think whoever is the PM, must have the authority to function," he had said.

Reacting to a question about Rahul Gandhi, Dwivedi said the Congress vice president has made it clear that his priority is the party's organisation.

"Rahul Gandhi has said and as I and the party understand it, he has made it clear that now there is no question of the prime minister's post," Dwivedi said.

He also said the party will take a call on the leadership issue after the Lok Sabha elections.

"Today, Manmohan Singh is the prime minister and everybody accepts him," he said.

Referring to the relationship between the prime minister and the Congress president, he said unlike other political parties, where the party chief and the government head share uneasy relations, the two have shared a good equation for a long time in the UPA.