External Affairs Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj, who declared on Tuesday that she would not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, has clarified that she is not retiring from politics.
Responding to a post on microblogging site Twitter, the External Affairs Minister said, “I am not retiring from politics. It is just that I am not contesting the next Lok Sabha election due to my health issues.”
In an interaction with mediapersons in Indore earlier on Tuesday, the senior BJP leader declared that she would not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as she had some health issues to take care of.
#WATCH: “It is the party which decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest next elections,” says External Affairs Minister and Vidisha MP Sushma Swaraj pic.twitter.com/ao8FIee2I0
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2018
“Though these decisions are taken by the party, but I have made up my mind that I will not contest the next Lok Sabha elections due to health reasons,” said the External Affairs Minister, who is an MP from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.
Talking to mediapersons in Indore, she further said, “After being elected from Vidisha as Lok Sabha MP, I was the Leader of Opposition. Later I was given the responsibility of External Affairs Ministry. Despite holding these prime posts, I used to visit all Assembly segments in my constituency every month for nearly eight years. Doctors have advised me that I should avoid exposure to dust. Because of this, I am unable to take part even in election rallies.”
“Due to health reasons, I cannot participate in outdoor public programmes. I have also told my party leadership, that in view of health reasons, I have to avoid such exposure,” she added.
Notably, Sushma Swaraj underwent a kidney transplant at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital in December 2016.
Backing her decision to not contest the next Lok Sabha elections, her husband and former Governor Swaraj Kaushal said that “there came a time when even Milkha Singh stopped running”.
He tweeted, “Madam – Thank you very much for your decision not to contest any more elections. I remember there came a time when even Milkha Singh stopped running.”
Source: Zee News