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Sonia is a 'natural leader' to head Congress govt: Pawar

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sharad Pawar said today that Congress president Sonia Gandhi would head the government if the party comes back to power at the Centre.

Addressing the media in Varanasi, the senior Congress leader said Sonia was a 'natural choice' for the post of prime minister.

Asked why he would not make a claim for the post, Pawar replied, ''Manmohan Singh and I are leaders of the party in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively. As per the convention only the leader of the parliamentary party (Sonia) can head the government.''

He maintained that the 'foreigner' stamp would not mar the chances of Sonia. ''The furore over foreign origin has become a non-issue and nobody would raise it now as the citizens of India have accepted her as a national leader having a vision and commitment to the people,'' he noted.

The Congress leader expressed confidence that his party would be able to lead a coalition government smoothly. ''We have a clear ideology, set of programmes and good experience in governance,'' he added.

Asked how the Congress would meet the demands of probable coalition partners like the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, Pawar said his party would not compromise on the basic issues. ''In fact Jayalalitha has so far not made any demand. Corruption charges against her are sub judice and courts will deal with them as per procedure,'' he added.

UNI

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