Mallikarjun Kharge: No one should retire in politics

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said there should be no retirement age in politics and those with ideological conviction and a will to serve the people and the country should do so till their last breathThe 82yearold leader was speaking here on Monday at the launch of Congress veteran Sushil Kumar Shindes memoir Five Decades in Politics written with journalistauthor Rasheed KidwaiKharge said that Shinde shouldnt see himself a retired man at 83 as he still has a crucial role to play in strengthening the Congress party and spreading its ideology further among the massesYou are 8283 only Look at Morarji Desai I believe no one should retire in politics Those who have faith in their ideology want to serve the nation want to serve their community then you have to work till your last breath and awaken the people of your country Kharge saidMorarji Desai became Indias oldest prime minister at the age of 81 in 1977Kharge the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha clarified that none of it should be done seeking a ministry or other plush positions but as a return gift to the people of the country and the political party that has nurtured the personWhatever one has learnt in his life or whatever one has achieved eventually you have to return it to the people he added hoping that Shinde will continue to work for the party where he achieved so much in his fivedecadeslong illustrious careerApart from being the chief minister of Maharashtra from 2003 to 2004 Shinde has held some of the highest offices in the country including the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 20042006 and the Union home minister from 20122014 He was also UPAs vicepresidential candidate in 2002 and in the party he served as All India Congress Committee general secretaryKharge also praised Shinde for his positive demeanour saying he went about his business with an everpresent smile on his face and did his work quietly without tom tomming about itHe argued that this quality of Shinde is rather rare in todays time when some people referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi are all talk and no actionHe Shinde has amazing patience I frankly speaking get angry very easily and cant stop myself when I see injustice happening anywhere But not him Shinde ji is ever smilingTo have that kind of attitude for 50 years is very difficult and he managed to do that Not for nothing he became chief minister home minister governor and achieved so much in his life he addedSushil Kumar Shinde on the occasion thanked the Congress party and especially the late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for mentoring and guiding him all the wayI have no words to thank Sonia Gandhi for what all she did for me Because to take the decision of appointing a scheduled caste as the chief minister in Maharashtra was not an easy thing to do and only someone like Sonia ji can do that There is just so much that the party did for me he noted adding that he hopes the book will work as an inspiration to othersThe book launch was also attended by Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Digvijaya SinghThe book priced at Rs 599 is published by HarperCollins IndiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever