[originaltext] Manmohan Singh, known as the architect of India’s recent econo

Manmohan Singh, known as the architect of India’s recent economic boom, has been named the new Prime Minister. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the 71-year-old Mr. Singh is the first non-Hindu in the post.
   At a meeting Wednesday evening, Congress Party lawmakers endorsed Manmohan Singh as the head of the new coalition government. The Party’s allies expressed confidence that a champion of economic reforms will be a successful Prime Minister. Mr. Singh commands wide respect for his integrity and intellect. Mr. Singh will be India’s first Prime Minister from the minority Sikh community. On Wednesday the Congress Party again brought enormous pressure on its Italianhorn leader Sonia Ghandi to reconsider her decision to turn down the Prime Minister’s job. But she urged the party to carry on with the task of forming a government. Hundreds of supporters besieged her home, senior Congress members resigned their posts, and party activists led street protests in several parts of the country, but Mrs. Ghandi did not relent. Anjana Pasricha, for VOA news New Delhi.