Will quit politics the day PM Modi retires, says Smriti Irani

Pune: Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani on Sunday said that she would stay in politics for long, however, she will quit politics the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hang his boots.

Speaking at the Words Count Festival here in a discussion titled 'Scripting Her Story, From Star to Star Campaigner', Irani said: "I will never become the prime minister. I take pride in the fact that I got an opportunity to work with charismatic leaders like late Atal Bihari Bajpayee ji and Modi ji."

"The day 'pradhan sevak' Narendra Modi ji decides to retire, I will also leave Indian politics," she added.

"People have started presuming that Modi ji won't be there for long, but I can assure you that he is going to stay here for many years," Irani said when asked whether the BJP will come in power once again in 2019.

The Union Minister further said that whether she would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Amethi against Congress president Rahul Gandhi or not, will be decided by BJP president Amit Shah, adding that "People were not able to recognise me in Amethi in 2014 but now they know who I am."

Irani fought against Rahul in the 2014 general elections from Amethi.

Talking about the menace of trolling on social media platforms, Irani asserted that she had been trolled not only by celebrated journalists and politicians but also by "anonymous denizens".

The Union Minister further said that she admires Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

"Without any additional support, they both have made a difference in Indian politics. They truly inspire me," she added.