19 May 2004	Wednesday	28 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

NEW DELHI, May 18: The children of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said on Tuesday their mother's decision to walk away from the prime ministership in the face of appeals by supporters had been tough.

"Everybody has made an emotional appeal. She is bound to think about it. But I don't know what will be her decision. It was very emotional for us and not an easy decision to take," said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, her daughter and aide.

"She never wanted to enter politics and when she did, her goal was never to secure the post of prime minister. We will talk to her at home and then let us see," Ms Priyanka, 32, told reporters.

Priyanka and her 33-year-old brother Rahul, who was elected an MP, sat through the meeting of Congress party MPs as leader after leader tried to persuade her mother to reconsider.

Mr Rahul said his mother had already answered critics from the Bharatiya Janata Party who repeatedly raked up her Italian origin as an election issue. "People have said all sorts of things about her. People may not be able to believe there is a person who can walk away from the post of prime minister. But there is," he said.

SUICIDE THREAT: Around 20 supporters of Sonia Gandhi threatened to kill themselves in protest if she declined to become India's prime minister. The group was part of a crowd of hundreds that assembled around Sonia Gandhi's tightly guarded home in central New Delhi as news broke that she may not accept the country's top job.

"We love Sonia and we will die for Sonia. If Sonia doesn't come to power, then we will die. We will commit suicide," said Binod Kumar Sharma, a Congress party worker from the northeastern state of Assam.

His colleagues seconded his threat before burning a flag of the defeated Bharatiya Janata Party, which has called Gandhi unacceptable as prime minister because of her foreign roots. -AFP