Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, a man for all seasons for the Congress Party, today expressed the desire to quit active politics at the end of the current term of the UPA government in 2014.
“When this tenure will be over, I will be 79. Perhaps that is the time for having a little bit of rest”, he said when asked if he desired to move into the Rashtrapati Bhawan some day.
Considered as the number two in the Manmohan Singh government, Mr. Mukherjee said at the HT Leadership Summit here, “I will go to my study where I have collected a large number of books which I did not have the time to read”.
Mr. Mukherjee has been involved in almost all policy matters as he heads several ministerial panels on contentious issues like telecom, gas pricing and foreign direct investment.
Mr. Mukherjee, who many consider to be an encyclopedia on Indian politics, the functioning of Parliament, economy and foreign policy, first entered the Rajya Sabha in 1969 and since held several key positions in the party and the government.
