BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister S M Krishna is retiring from active politics. Sources in the Congress said Krishna has written a letter to All Indian Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi saying he would like to be a role model for party workers and would not like to pursue any active role.
Krishna is said to have expressed his desire to quit the primary membership of the party too. The 84-year-old is also said to have conveyed that he had enjoyed all the posts that he held and no one was responsible for his decision. AICC is yet to take a decision in this regard.
In Bengaluru, senior Congress leaders maintained that they were not aware of the developments and were trying to meet Krishna. Sources close to Krishna, however, said that though he has not blamed anyone in his letter, he is said to be miffed at being sidelined in the party and for not being taken into confidence before major decisions were taken.
Sources said his membership in the Congress Working Committee was also not renewed and he refused to pursue the matter. Krishna was not available for comment. Sources close to him confirmed that on Sunday morning he will address a press conference and speak about the developments.
Though Krishna had kept a relatively low profile, the relationship between him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was strained before and after the Cabinet reshuffle, when there was a scramble for ministerial berths. As many as 45 leaders had tried to rally behind Krishna and tried to convince the party high command for a change of leadership in the state.
After the Cabinet reshuffle last year, dropped leaders had also met him to convey their unhappiness over Siddaramaiah’s decision. Krishna was first elected as an MLA in 1962. He was External Affairs Minister from May 2009 to October 2012 and the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004. He has also served as the Union Minister for Industry, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, Governor of Maharashtra, Karnataka Assembly Speaker and was the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee among other things.