In a setback to the Congress, former union minister and five-time MP Gurudas Kamat on Monday announced he was quitting the party and the political arena.
"I met Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) about 10 days ago and expressed a desire to resign. For several months now, I have felt I need to take a backseat to enable others to get the opportunity," Kamat said in a statement late this evening.
A lawyer by qualification, the 61-year-old Kamat has represented Mumbai North East Lok Sabha seat five times - 1984, 1991, 1998, 2004, 2009 - and served as Minister of Communications and IT in the Manmohan Singh government.
--IANS
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