Nagpur:

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said a political leader once offered to support him if he were to enter the race for the Prime Minister’s post, but he declined the offer stating that he did not nurse that ambition.

“I remember one incident — I would not name anyone — that person said if you are going to become prime minister, we will support you,” Gadkari said at a journalism awards function here, without specifying when the conversation took place.

“But, I asked why you should support me, and why should I take your support. To become the prime minister is not the aim in my life. I am loyal to my conviction and my organisation, and I am not going to compromise for any post because my conviction is foremost for me,” the senior BJP leader added.

In his speech, Nitin Gadkari underlined the importance of ethics in both journalism and politics.

Recalling a meeting with a senior CPI functionary, Nitin Gadkari said he told the communist leader that late A B Bardhan was among the tallest politicians from Nagpur and Vidarbha.

When the leader expressed surprise saying that Bardhan was an opponent of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Nitin Gadkari said honest opposition should be respected.

“I said one should respect a person who opposes with honesty, because there is honesty in his opposition….one who opposes with dishonesty deserves no respect,” said Nitin Gadkari.

Comrade Bardhan was faithful to his ideology, and politics as well as journalism now lack such people, he said.

Democracy will be successful only when all four pillars — judiciary, executive, legislature and media — follow ethics, the BJP leader further said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has been named in the party’s second list of candidates for the forthcoming general election. Mr Gadkari, 66, who hails from Maharashtra, will defend the state’s Nagpur seat that he has held since the 2014 poll. 

That Mr Gadkari – a veteran member of the Narendra Modi government over the past decade, and former President of the Bharatiya Janata Party – had not been named in the party’s first list raised eyebrows, particularly since the BJP is swift when it comes to dropping big names to avoid anti-incumbency.

Mr Gadkari’s omission from that list – which named 195 candidates – was pounced upon by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who invited the Road Transport and Highways Minister to join the state’s Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.

READ | “Insulted? Join Us”: Uddhav Thackeray To Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

Speaking at an event in Yavatmal district, Mr Thackeray pointed out that former Congress leader Kripashankar Singh – whom the BJP once accused of corruption – had been named.

“I told Gadkari this two days ago, and am repeating it. If you are being insulted, leave BJP and join MVA (which includes the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction). We will ensure your victory, will make you a minister. And it will be a post with powers,” Mr Thackeray said.

In response to speculation over Mr Gadkari’s absence from the BJP’s first list, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rubbished talk of a rift.

READ | Will Gadkari’s Name Be In BJP’s 2nd List? What Devendra Fadnavis Said

He pointed out the list had been released when the BJP was still in seat-share talks with its Maharashtra allies.

Mr Gadkari himself had responded to Mr Thackeray’s offer, calling it “immature” and “ridiculous”. Speaking, perhaps not coincidentally, in the same Yavatmal district, he said the BJP had a system of deciding tickets, and that his rival need not worry on his account.

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