'The day PM Modi decides to hang his boots, I will quit politics', says Union Minister Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Sunday declared that she would quit Indian politics the day PM Narendra Modi leaves the political arena.

She was speaking at the Words Count festival in Pune.

The BJP MP was asked about her political aspirations. When questioned "when will one see pradhan sevak Smriti Irani?", she said she did not aim to be the Prime Minister as she has joined politics to work for "charismatic leaders". She added that she was lucky to have worked under former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

She further said that if PM Narendra Modi quit politics, she would follow suit,

Here is her full comment on her the question on whether she had any goal to be the PM:

"Never.I entered politics to work under charismatic leaders.I was very lucky to work under leadership of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee&I'm currently serving under Narendra Modi.

"The day Pradhan Sevak Narendra Modi decides that he will hang his boots, is the day I will leave Indian politics.

"You are presuming Modi won't be there for long, but let me tell you, he is going to be around for very, very long years," she told the audience.

The BJP leader was also asked whether she would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from Amethi against Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

She said the decision would be taken by her party and its chief Amit Shah.

"In 2014, when I fought the election, they were asking who is Smriti. In 2019, they know who I am," she asserted.

Irani had lost to Gandhi in the 2014 general elections from Amethi.

Speaking on the menace of trolling on social media platforms, the actor-turned-politician said she had been trolled by celebrated journalists and politicians and not just by anonymous netizens.

"I might be one of the few people who have been equally trolled by celebrated journalists and politicians and by anonymous trolls," she said.

Talking about the women politicians she admired, Irani named Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker and Indore MP Sumitra Mahajan.

"When they began their journey, it was comparatively tougher. They have made a difference in Indian politics without any additional support. I look up to them as my source of inspiration," she added.

(With inputs from PTI)