New Delhi: Maharashtra’s expelled Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam tore into the party Thursday, accusing its leaders of “tremendous arrogance” and fostering “power centres” that constantly clashed with each other.
Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, the former parliamentarian, who was sacked from the party Wednesday for “indiscipline and anti-party statements”, added that the Congress ranks had ideologically and structurally disintegrated.
“Earlier there used to be one power centre and it had its own caucus. The others fought against this coterie. But there are five centres now, each with their own lobbies. And their lobbies clash against each other. And people like us, who do not belong to any clique…they come under pressure,” the leader said.
He added the first power centre was Sonia Gandhi, the second Rahul Gandhi “jo apna dukaan chalata rehta hai (who does his own thing)”. “Phir behenji ki bhi ek coterie hai. Woh apne dhang se apna power exert karte rehte hai (then there is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who exerts power in her own way)… Then there is party president Mallikarjun Kharge, whose followers have suddenly become the high command even though they are ignorant of politics. And I cannot even mention the language they use.”
“The last power centre,” he said, “is K.C. Venugopal.”
Nirupam came in the crosshairs of the party’s state leadership for recent remarks targeting party ally and Maha Vikas Aghadi member Shiv Sena (UBT) in the state.
He had chastised state bosses for “ceding” constituencies in Mumbai to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena during seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The former MP defended his statements before the media Thursday, asserting that the issues he had brought up were in the Congress’s interest.
He also warned those interested in writing his political obituary that he would contest the general election from the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency and win.
On his expulsion from the Congress party, Nirupam said he had sent his resignation to Mallikarjun Kharge Wednesday, following which the party made the decision to throw him out.
Nirupam said in an X post in the morning: “Looks like, immediately after the party received my resignation letter last night, they decided to issue my expulsion. Good to see such promptness.”
Looks like, immediately after the party received my resignation letter last night, they decided to issue my expulsion.
Good to see the such promptness.
Just sharing this info.
I will give detail statement today between 11.30 to 12 PM pic.twitter.com/3Wil8OaxuE
— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) April 4, 2024
The Congress had earlier dropped Nirupam as a star campaigner.
Nirupam also raised the issue of “serious financial crisis” in the Congress, apparently alluding to the Income Tax Department’s notices on overdue tax.
The former MP from Mumbai North, Nirupam, had hit out at the state leadership after the Shiv Sena (UBT) declared candidates for four out of six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, including the Mumbai North West seat, which Nirupam was believed to be eyeing. He had also said the Congress leadership shouldn’t allow itself to be arm-twisted by the Shiv Sena (UBT). Nirupam had quit the Shiv Sena in 2005.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)