Chief Election Commissioner Hari Shankar Brahma today said he will take up farming in his home state Assam after his retirement next month.
"I want to be a farmer," Brahma said when asked about his retirement plans.
"I have land in Assam. I'll come back here," he added.
Brahma is a 1975-batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre hailing from Assam. His tenure will end on April 19 when he turns 65, the upper age limit for the post of Chief Election Commissioner.
On January 16 this year, Brahma had taken over as the 19th Chief Election Commissioner of India. He had assumed charge as one of the three Election Commissioners on August 25, 2010.
After J M Lyndogh, Brahma became the second officer from the North East to be appointed to this post.
When asked about his comments on RTI activist Akhil Gogoi's peasants body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti announcing to launch a political party, Brahma said "It is a good thing. There should be someone to talk about the farmers. Nobody looks after them."
He said there were many farmers' groups and political parties in different parts of the country.
"They are something like pressure groups for the farmers. They talk about loans, credits, prices of crops, and farmers' right. They put pressure on government for different policies," Brahma said.
