'Dalit PM from Congress in near future'

New Delhi: The day is not far off when a Dalit would be nominated as Prime Minister by Congress, a senior party leader said on Sunday.

"Congress has made 4 CMs in different states in past. Day is not far when it will give a dalit PM, not for votes but for dalit empowerment," party leader Anil Shastri posted in popular microblogging site Twitter.

The statement comes in the wake of Mayawati's claim that Congress could appoint Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar or Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as Prime Minister ahead of the UP Assembly elections.

Earlier, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, who is in-charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh, had dismissed Mayawati's claim saying that Manmohan Singh would remain as the Prime Minister.

Shastri, in an another tweet, said, "Mayawati can't be the only dalit aspiring to be PM. There are many more qualified and capable leaders in the Congress."

On the debate over RTI, the Congress leader said there was a concerted effort from people within the government to dilute the Act.

"There seems to be a concerted effort by people in govt to dilute and weaken the RTI which should be resisted by all right thinking people," he said.

Shastri has expressed his views in the backdrop of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that a 'critical look' must be taken at the RTI Act.