NAGPUR: Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday he does not bring religion and caste in public discourse because he believes people value “service to society” above everything else. “Jo karega jaat ki baat, usko marunga laat,” he said, recalling his statement during election campaign last year. He reiterated his stance even at the cost of “losing an election or a ministerial berth”. Gadkari was speaking at the convocation ceremony of a minority institute.
“We never discriminate on these things (caste/religion). I am in politics and here a lot of things are said. But I decided to work on my terms, and not worry about who would vote for me,” Gadkari said, adding, “My friends said you should not have said it, but I decided to live with this principle in life. I won’t die if I lose an election or if I don’t get a ministerial berth.”
Gadkari recalled how he, when he was an MLC, transferred the permission for an engineering college to Anjuman-e-Islam institute (Nagpur), as he felt “they needed it more”. He said, “If more engineers, IPS and IAS officers come from Muslim community, everyone will progress. We have an example in former President late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.” He said, “Today thousands of students have become engineers under the banner of Anjuman-e-Islam. If they hadn’t got the opportunity to study, nothing would have happened. Such is the power of education. It can transform lives and communities.”
