Rahul is 'future' of Congress, says spokesperson

Congress on Wednesday said Rahul Gandhi is the "future" of the party and the country, echoing senior leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's sentiments that he is going to be a "new leader" of the party.

Congress spokesman Rashid Alvi when asked for his reaction to Mukherjee's statement that could be interpreted as projecting the young leader as the next prime ministerial candidate said, Rahul is the "future of the Congress and future of the country".

"Rahul is leader even now," he said about the 42-year-old All India Congress Committee general secretary. The Congress believes that the organisation will become more powerful under his leadership, he said at the AICC media briefing in response to a question. Mukherjee had said on Tuesday that Rahul is going to be a "new leader" of Congress.

Mukherjee's statement is considered significant given the fact that the Congress leaders have hailed the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty as the party's future leader and a potential prime minister. Alvi also said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has himself said that Rahul is the "future of the country".

To a specific query whether Rahul will be the PM candidate of the Congress in the 2014 polls, he avoided a direct reply by noting that Manmohan Singh right now was the prime minister and there were still three years for the polls.