Politics now only means 'power politics': Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said while politics is actually synonymous with social service, nation-building and development, in the present times, it means power politics only.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader was speaking at the felicitation of Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

"Politics does not face the problem of differences of opinion, but that of absence of thoughts. The meaning of politics is 'samajkaran, rashtrakaran and vikaskaran' (social service, nation-building and development). But now, the definition of politics has changed to 'sattakaran' (power politics) only," he said.

"Earlier, while working as RSS workers, we faced many hurdles. There was no recognition and respect. Haribhau Bagade worked with dedication for the welfare of the people...I travelled and worked in Vidarbha for 20 long years as a party worker. People used to throw stones at our rallies. Post-Emergency, the autorickshaw I used for making announcements was set ablaze by people," he recalled.

Now, thousands of people come to listen to me. But this popularity is not mine, it is thanks to the workers like Haribhau Bagade who worked hard and risked their lives, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways said.

A good party worker is the one who behaves well even though he does not get anything in the party. Those who get something, they naturally behave well, Gadkari said.