Mani Shankar Aiyar hints at exit from political life

Hyderabad: Former Union minister and Congress member of the Rajya Sabha, Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday revealed that he wants to exit politics. Speaking as part of a panel discussion on leadership at a private business school in Hyderabad, Mr Aiyar said that the Commonwealth Games conducted during Congress rule in 2010 was an “enormous waste of money”.

He said that he had raised objection over conducting the Games in India when he was sports minister in 2008 because the poor would not have access to India’s biggest sporting event, the budget of which went up from Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore, but his advice was not heeded.

Speaking about leadership, he said that a good leader should be true to oneself. Adding that he was a misfit in politics, Mr Aiyar said, “I consider myself a failure in political arena. I want to exit from politics.”