Around a year after he said he felt like quitting politics, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said he is not retiring from politics.
Gadkari told reporters in Jammu that he is engaged in farming activities and participates in issues like organic farming and bio-fuels, but that does not mean is he is quitting politics.
He said, “I am doing a number of projects with farmers. I am into organic farming, bio-fuels, handlooms, and handcrafts and it is of my interest. I had said I am interested in this work and I want to give more time to it and then some newspaper carried a story that Gadkari is not interested in politics. The same newspaper after four hours removed the report but media in the country started debating it throughout the night.”
Last year, Gadkri was quoted as saying that he often feels like “quitting politics” as he believes there is more to life.
“A lot of times I wonder whether I should give up politics. There is more to life than politics,” Gadkari was quoted as saying last year.
Gadkari on Tuesday said this question is more related to the credibility of the media as he had not said anything like that.
“I am not quitting politics,” Gadkari said while talking to reporters in Jammu.
Gadkari was on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. On Monday, he inspected under-construction Zojila and Z-Morh tunnels on the Srinagar-Leh highway. On Tuesday, he and Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha inspected the Srinagar-Banihal section of the Jammu to Srinagar highway.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is constructing three corridors on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore to reduce the distance: Jammu to Udhampur, Ramban to Banihal and Banihal to Srinagar.
The government is constructing a four-lane road of 250 km in length at a cost of Rs 16,000 crore. Out of this, four-laning of 210 km route has been completed, including 10 tunnels of 21.5 km.
With the construction of the route, there will be all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar. Travel time from Srinagar to Jammu will reduce from ten to five hours. The four-lane road between Ramban and Banihal will be completed by June 2024.
Gadkari said that he was not the only person who is doing the work in his ministry. He said officials and contractors work like a team and he should not be credited alone for laying the road network.
“At times, I get the credit because being a minister, but I think credit should be given to officials, contractors, labourers, engineers, state governments, revenue authorities, and environment and forest officials,” said Gadkari.
