The day is not far when Rahul Gandhi [Images] will become the prime minister, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee [Images] said on Thursday.

Replying to a question from a delegate participating in the Pravasi Baharatiya Diwas in Chennai that why the country did not have young leadership, he said Rahul Gandhi would follow the footsteps of his father Rajiv Gandhi [Images], who became the prime minister at a young age.

He said P K Mohanta of the AGP and Omar Abdullah [Images] of the National Conference became the chief ministers at a young age.

Two days back, party General Secretary Digvijay Singh had said that Rahul is the future of the party.

"Rahul has the talent and he has already been projected as the country's (future) Prime Minister," Singh had said.

Several leaders in the party including Arjun Singh [Images], M Veerappa Moily and Prithviraj Chavan has hailed Rahul as the future leader of the party and AICC said he was a potential prime minister.