PM told Rahul on Oct 2: I appreciate your taking active interest, you should lead the next govt

New Delhi: At 10 am on October 2, when Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and said he regretted his choice of words about the controversial ordinance, Dr Singh told the Gandhi scion, I appreciate your taking active interest in such subjects, you should lead the next government. Eight hours later, at 6 pm, the Union Cabinet decided to withdraw the controversial ordinance providing protection to convicted MLAs and MPs. It now appears that the 81-year-old prime minister is unlikely to seek a third term in office, even if the UPA manages to muster majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, sources close to PMO said. The prime minister's insistence that the Gandhi scion take a more active role signals his growing discomfiture with the dual power structure, with Sonia Gandhi heading the Congress-led UPA coalition and Singh leading the government. Gandhi met the prime minister shortly after the latter returned from a US trip. During the meeting, the Congress vice-president regretted his choice of words while trashing an ordinance meant to shield convicted leaders from disqualification. Sources in the PMO said during their 20-minute meeting, the Prime Minister briefed Rahul Gandhi on why the Cabinet had decided to push the ordinance, based on a note prepared by law minister Kapil Sibal. Rahul Gandhi regretted the manner in which he intervened and said, he had spoken spontaneously when asked about his views about the ordinance. Rahul Gandhi reportedly told the PM that the ordinanc did not reflect the mood of the people and pushing it through would anger the aam aadmi (common man). Rahul Gandhi added that he could not bring himself to "defend the indefensible."To this, the Prime Minister said he appreciated the fact that Rahul Gandhi was taking an active interest in controversial political subjects and added that he should lead the next government. Rahul Gandhi's dramatic intervention to block the ordinance has now made it inevitable that he must take the responsibility of heading the next government if the UPA retains power after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Congress sources sayd, it was extremely unlikely that Dr Singh would get a third term even if the UPA manages to retain power. On September 27, Rahul Gandhi in a dramatic fashion told a press conference that he thought the ordinance and had said, the ordinance should be torn up and thrown away. The Prime Minister, who was in the US that time, had said while returning, "I will discuss these things with Rahul Gandhi. I am not master of what people say."