Cong needs situation managers, not time-tested leaders: SMK

Cong needs situation managers, not time-tested leaders: SMK

A day after resigning from the Congress, former Union minister S M Krishna on Sunday took a dig at the party saying “it needs only situation managers and not time-tested leaders or workers.”

“These days the Congress depends only on situation managers and not time-tested leaders or workers like me...I am leaving the party with a heavy heart,” he told journalists at his Sadashivanagar residence here. The veteran leader turned emotional as he formally announced his decision to quit the grand-old party with which he was associated for over four decades.

Though Krishna said that he will not retire from politics, he did not reveal his future plans. He said he will introspect and consult his friends and well-wishers before taking the next step. He denied reports in a section of the media that he was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the first week of February. He said he is firm on his decision and that he will not budge even if the Congress president Sonia Gandhi asks him to reconsider his decision.

The 85-year-old Krishna said he was pained at the way the party leadership sidelined him in the last few years citing his age.

“According to me, age is a state of mind. Age should not be the criterion for taking the decisions. Some people are inactive at young age, while some are active even in old age...The ultimate test should be commitment and capacity,” he stated, adding that he was not treated with respect in the party.

The former chief minister said he had campaigned for the party to the best of his abilities in the 2013 Assembly polls in the state. None in the party thought of his age at that time. “Suddenly, it was discovered that he has crossed 80 and decided that he should rest. In reality, it should be otherwise. Unfortunately, somebody else decides such things (who should take rest)” he stated, adding that it was a clear indication that the Congress does not need him any more.

He said the party’s decision to unceremoniously remove him from the post of External Affairs minister in 2012 and the high command’s refusal to make him a Rajya Sabha member in 2016 hurt him the most. “These incidents hurt me the most...And there is a way to get rid of a leader. The Congress should learn the art of giving graceful exit to its leaders,” he added.

MP Hukkeri to follow Krishna
The Congress MP from Chikkodi, Prakash B Hukkeri, on Sunday announced that he would follow in the footsteps of S M Krishna, who has resigned from the primary membership of the Congress, if the party neglects senior leaders, reports DHNS from Belagavi.

Hukkeri, who is also a former minister, told journalists in Chikkodi that Krishna’s decision has come as a shock to most Congressmen.

He said Krishna is his political guru. KPCC member Raveendra Srikantaiah of Srirangaptana in Krishna’s home district Mandya announced that he and his supporters too will quit the Congress.

Hope he will reconsider decision: Cong
The Congress on Sunday kept the door open for S M Krishna to return to the party fold. It said the high command respected him and hoped that he will reconsider his decision.

At the same time, the Congress reminded Krishna, a former External Affairs minister, that the party had backed him though he had caused an embarrassment to the country by forgetting to read his own speech at the United Nations, reports DHNS from New Delhi.

Congress sources said attempts by senior leaders A K Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad to persuade Krishna to re-think his decision went in vain.

Sources said the party high command still has great regard for Krishna and he can meet the Congress president Sonia Gandhi whenever he wants to.

Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said: “He was chief minister, External Affairs minister and governor also. He was among the fortunate few who got these things. I can only say he had a dream run in his political career while in the Congress. It is unfortunate if he now says so (criticises party leadership).”