Manmohan will be PM: Sonia

Fresh from victory, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday made it clear that Manmohan Singh will be the prime minister and he said he would like to have Rahul Gandhi in his Cabinet.

"The party and Rahul Gandhi has time and again made it clear that Manmohan Singh will be the  prime minister," Gandhi told reporters when asked about the role of Rahul in the
government.

"It is for the prime minister to decide on Rahul Gandhi's role in the new government," she said when asked whether her son will join the Cabinet.

Singh and Sonia appeared before the media at her 10 Janpath residence as he came for a meeting with her with a bouquet in his hand to greet her on the good showing by the
Congress and the UPA which is all set to retain power.

Both the leaders thanked the people for reposing faith in the Congress and the UPA for giving them a fresh mandate.

When pressed again on the issue of Rahul joining the cabinet, Singh said he had tried in the past and would again try to persuade him to join the Cabinet. In his brief remark, the prime minister said the people of India have spoken and they have spoken with "great
clarity".

"They have expressed faith in Congress, in the visionary leadership of Sonia Gandhi and the sustained hard work by youth leader Rahul," he said.

The prime minister said the UPA is committed to provide a "stable, strong government which is committed to secular values. He appealed to all the political parties to join hands with the government and show the world that "we stand as one nation".