Rishi Sunak discusses rationale for taking over as UK PM

In a television interview with Piers Morgan to commemorate his 100th day in office as Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister, Rishi Sunak discussed his rationale for taking over the post at 10 Downing Street during a period of political uncertainty last year and described it as his dharma, according to PTI.

He was questioned throughout the interview about his choice to accept a difficult position in the middle of a crisis involving rising living expenses and his predecessor Liz Truss' limited 45 day tenure as prime minister.

It is about duty for me. In Hinduism there is a concept called Dharma, which roughly translates into duty and that is how I was raised. He replied that it was about doing the things that were expected of you and trying to do the right thing.

Even though it was going to be a nightmare job, I felt that I could make a difference and was the best person to make a difference, especially given the challenges that people were facing and what they were seeing with their mortgages, and that is why I put myself forward to do it knowing that it would be difficult and challenging but ultimately doing what was my duty in that situation. He was quoted as saying that I believe deeply in service and thought I could make a difference for the country.

The 42-year-old has mentioned how his Hindu faith gives him strength. After being elected as a member of Parliament, he took his oath of loyalty in the House of Commons on the Bhagavad Gita.

He took a trip to the Hare Krishna temple in London last year after visiting his leadership campaign to celebrate Janmashtami. He described his wife Akshata, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, as his support system and said he was lucky to have her as his partner. He told her about the time he got down on one knee and proposed to her romantically and thanked her for helping him out at work.

Without her love and support, I wouldn't be able to do this job, he said. Asked about the mantra the British public could cling to, he said: Have hope because I can make it better and I will make it better. That is what I am working on day and night. Morgan also queried about his personal wealth and he restated his vow to share his tax returns for the sake of transparency. The tax returns will be published soon. He said that the tax filing deadline was just a few days ago and that they will be released soon. Sunak stated he would love to give the nurses a large salary hike, but he couldn't do it because it would cause inflation. Even if it is not popular, it is the right thing for the country to stay the course to beat inflation, he was quoted as saying by PTI.