In politics, foremost loyalty must be to one's own conscience: Ashwani Kumar bids adieu to RS

New Delhi: With his membership coming to an end, Congress member Ashwani Kumar on Tuesday bade an emotional adieu to Rajya Sabha with two regrets, including his resignation as Law Minister in 2013 in the wake of a controversy with regard to coal block allocation issue. [caption id=“attachment_2677032” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Former law minister Ashwani Kumar served as a member of Rajya Sabha for 14 years. PTI[/caption] He said his tryst with politics and membership of the august House has taught him many lessons. “The first lesson is hypocrisy annuls leadership. The second is that, what you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” Kumar, who was representing Punjab, said he had “realised that in Parliament, one’s worst enemies are not always sitting on the Opposite benches; they are alongside or behind you and that in the final analysis a man’s own character is the arbiter of his fortune.” He added that he also “learnt that in politics, as in life, there should be room for multiple loyalties. The foremost loyalty must be to one’s own conscience and to the country.” Kumar said during the last 14 years, as a member of Rajya Sabha, he had been witness to the unfolding of the political history of India in the 21st century. Talking about his two regrets as member of Rajya Sabha, he said, “it pained me when I resigned as Law Minister in 2013”. Kumar had to resign after a controversy over alleged sharing with PMO a CBI probe report in coal block allocation. Another regret, he said, related to the impeachment proceedings of former Calcutta High Court judget Saumitra Sen in 2011. “I had a conscientious objection to the impeachment proceedings in relation to Justice Sen, not because he was not heard but because it appeared to me at that time that the verdict against him was already etched in stone because of political considerations rather than justice of the cause,” an emotional Kumar said. PTI