Felt it was my dharma to take over as UK PM: Rishi Sunak

London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken of his motivation behind taking on the top job at 10 Downing Street in the wake of intense political turmoil last year as his “dharma”.

In a televised interview with 'Talk TV' host Piers Morgan at his Downing Street home to mark 100 days in the job as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister on Thursday, he was asked what made him take on the tough task amid a crippling cost-of-living crisis and his predecessor Liz Truss’ shortest term as Prime Minister at just 45 days.

“For me it’s about duty. There’s a concept in Hinduism called dharma, which roughly translates into duty and that’s how I was raised. It was about doing the things that were expected of you and trying to do the right thing,” he replied.

“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 at that moment, especially given the challenges that people were facing, what they were seeing with their mortgages and that’s ultimately 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. I believe deeply in service and thought I could make a difference for the country,” he said.

The 42-year-old, who swore his oath of allegiance on being elected member of Parliament in the House of Commons on the ‘Bhagavad Gita’, has often spoken about his Hindu faith giving him strength.

The UK-born son of National Health Service (NHS) doctor Yashveer and pharmacist Usha has spoken of regular visits to the temple with his family and during last year’s leadership campaign, he took time out to make a visit to a Hare Krishna temple on the outskirts of London for Janmashtami to seek blessings.