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Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said that once an opposition leader had offered him support to contest for the prime minister’s post. However, he declined it, saying he had no desire to fulfil that ambition.
“I remember an incident – I will not name anyone – the person said ‘If you are going to become the prime minister, we will support you,’ but I asked why should you support me and why should I take your support,” Gadkari said.
He further said, “Becoming the Prime Minister is not the aim of my life. I am loyal to my faith and my organisation and I am not going to compromise for any post, because for me my faith is most important.”
Gadkari was speaking at an event in Nagpur to present the Anilkumar Award for Excellence in Journalism 2023-24 to our senior journalists. These journalists are Vivek Deshpande (formerly with the Indian Express), Ramu Bhagwat (who retired from the Times of India), Srimant Mane (Editor, Lokmat Vidarbha) and Ram Bhakre (Loksatta).
Established in memory of pre-independence era journalist, poet and writer Anilkumar, the award is given jointly by Vidarbha Gaurav Pratishthan and the Nagpur Union of Working Journalists (NUWJ).
‘Anyone who protests with honesty must be respected’: Nitin Gadkari
In his speech, Gadkari emphasised the need for ethics in journalism and politics. He shared an anecdote from a conversation he had with a senior member of the Communist Party of India (CPI). Recalling his meeting with a senior CPI functionary, Gadkari told him how much he respected the late AB Bardhan and that he was one of the tallest politicians of Nagpur and Vidarbha. The CPI leader expressed surprise that Bardhan was opposed to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). To this, Gadkari replied that honest opposition should be respected.
Gadkari said, “I had said that we should respect a person who protests honestly because there is honesty in his protest… one who protests dishonestly does not deserve respect.”
He said that Comrade Bardhan was loyal to his ideology and there is a dearth of such people in politics as well as journalism. The BJP leader further said that democracy will succeed only when all the four pillars – judiciary, executive, legislature and media – follow ethics.
(with inputs from agencies)
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