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NEWSNOTES
Janata Dal (United) leader Ramakrishna Hegde says he
will retire from politics after his 75th birthday on August 29.
Q. Have you been a victim of politics within
the coalition?
A. People
like George Fernandes kept me out of the Cabinet without letting A.B.
Vajpayee know. After I was excluded from the ministry Vajpayee called
me and said it was a mistake.
Q. What about NDA partners like the PMK and
Trinamool Congress going out and coming back?
A. This is political opportunism. The NDA must have some rules.
It is not a railway junction where one gets in and gets out.
Q. You were prime ministerial material but
your arch rival H.D. Deve Gowda beat you to it.
A.
It can only happen in India. But I didn't stoop to conspiring or lobbying
for high offices.
Q. Do you see a union of the JD(S) and JD(U)
in your time?
A.
No, I don't see it happening as long as senior leaders like Deve Gowda
don't want to be on talking terms with me. I don't hate anyone, not even
Deve Gowda or Fernandes. At this stage in life it is not good to harbour
hatred.
Q. Are you retiring soon?
A.
It is time to say goodbye to politics now and I want to write, reflect
and prepare for my next life, if there is one.
Q. Will your followers allow it?
A.
I am not indispensable. They can do without me.
—Stephen David
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