My lifetime not ending so soon: Nehru
“My lifetime is not ending so very soon” — this is how Mr. Nehru reacted to a correspondent’s question whether it would not be in the interests of good Government that he solved the problem of succession “in your lifetime in a democratic manner.” The 200-odd correspondents, who packed the Press conference room at Vigyan Bhavan, loudly cheered Mr. Nehru’s remark breaking a convention. The correspondent had prefaced his question with Mr. Nehru’s statement in a television interview that he was not grooming Mrs. Indira Gandhi for the post of Prime Minister. Mr. Nehru smiled and said: That is a leading question.
Correspondent: But this is on everybody’s lips.
Mr. Nehru: My lifetime is not ending so very soon…
A correspondent asked Mr. Nehru whether he had given thought to the suggestion that in view of the great strain he was having he should retire and function as an adviser.
Mr. Nehru: Well, yes, whenever such suggestions are made I give some thought to them.