Though these were only two lines of a 105-line speech, Congress MPs see this as the first strong signal from Sonia that the party could well be thinking in terms of forming a government at the Centre. She also asked MPs to use the inter-session period to strengthen the party at the grassroots, a message MPs think is just short of telling them the Congress was forming a new government.

Apparently, Sonia decided to send this message after ``signals'' she received from other parties in the Opposition over the last few weeks when the Parliament was in session. She apparently believes that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition is on the verge of falling apart and is nowinvolved in a ``great struggle for survival''.

It is in this context that two crucial decisions she took are being seen: first, to keep both the AIADMK and the DMK in good humour over the Jain Commission's final report and second, agreeing to Mamata Banerjee's proposal and not fielding P M Sayeed as a candidate for the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker's post.

There does appear to be some substance in Sonia's message going by the line the Congress has so far taken in the debate on the Jain Commission report in Parliament.

So far, only the Rajya Sabha has taken the issue up but none of the Congress speakers had anything harsh to say on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's alleged support to the LTTE. If anything, the Congress line has been a tame one merely attacking the BJP for its ATR on the Jain report.Likewise, Sayeed was a strong contender for the winning post on the Deputy Speaker issue but Sonia took him off after personally lobbying for his candidature with other parties like the Left. Though Mamatawas officially credited by the Congress for putting off the election, Sonia is believed to chosen to keep Mamata happy for ``larger objectives''.

The only such ``objective'' in the horizon is an alternative government at the Centre, led by the Congress. Also, what Sonia said in today's CPP meeting is a shift from what she said in the last such gathering. Earlier, she had merely asked Congress MPs to play a ``constructive role in the Opposition'', but now she is talking of ``assuming responsibilities in the short term''.

However, in an extremely fluid political situation, anything is possible and the Congress might still have to wait for a while before its gets a chance to get back to 7, Race Course Road.

In a dinner which she hosted for party MPs tonight, on the eve of the Parliament monsoon session ending, Sonia is understood to have told MPs to be in a ``positive frame of mind''. More clarity on her thoughts is expected in the coming weeks.