Rahul says PM's intervention was 'convincing'

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi described as "convincing" prime minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in Parliament today on the controversial India-Pakistan joint statement in perhaps the first sign that the Congress, after some unease, could back him totally.

"The speech was very good," Gandhi remarked after Singh's rebuttal of opposition criticism of a 'sellout' and the charge that he had broken the national consensus on foreign policy. "The prime minister is always convincing," he said.

Singh's statement had led to some reservations within the Congress. A dinner hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for party MPs saw her receiving the prime minister and several members complimenting him for his speech.

Besides the prime minister, almost all the Congress ministers in the cabinet and Rahul Gandhi attended the dinner ahead of the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting tomorrow at which the party chief is expected to outline the party's position on the issue.

Earlier, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said the prime minister in his comprehensive speech has pointed to the clear linkage between verifiable action by Pakistan against terror and the movement towards dialogue with it.

"This demonstrates government's position on tough action on terror stands reinforced," he said.