Exclusive - 'We need Congress in the country', 'AAP incapable of filling its shoes': Nitin Gadkari

Highlighting that a competent opposition strengthens democracy, Gadkari on Saturday said that the Congress Party needed to be strong in the country "at this point".

Pune: In an interesting turn of events, Congress found an unlikely supporter in BJP senior leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari who rued the decline of the grand old party and hoped that it rose back as a strong opposition.

Highlighting that a competent opposition strengthens democracy, Gadkari on Saturday said that the Congress Party needed to be strong in the country "at this point". One of the senior BJP leaders, Gadkari also said that it was a matter of concern how across the country the strength of the regional parties was increasing while Congress' was declining.

"In order for a democracy to thrive in a country like ours, it is necessary to have strong people in power and equally strong people in the opposition. That is why we need Congress in the country," he said during an interview at a regional newspaper's award function in Pune. He criticised the Aam Aadmi Party and other regional parties for being "incapable" of filling Congress' shoes.

Asked if he would build a bridge between his political party BJP and the Shiv Sena, the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways curtly replied, "I am currently building a national highway. We are focusing on national politics."