Urmila Matondkar quits Congress just months after her political debut
Politics

Urmila Matondkar quits Congress just months after her political debut

Urmila Matondkar, who joined the Congress in March and contested for the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat, said didn't want to be party to petty in-house politics.

   
Actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar | ANI

Actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar | ANI

Mumbai: Actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar Tuesday said she has resigned from the Congress party, which she had joined in March this year, citing “petty in-house politics”.

“My political and social sensibilities refuse to allow vested interests in the party to use me as a means to fight petty in-house politics instead of working on a bigger goal in Mumbai Congress,” she said.

Matondkar lost the Mumbai North seat in the Lok Sabha elections to BJP’s Gopal Shetty.
The announcement comes as a huge embarrassment for the Congress, which is struggling to keep its flock together ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, slated to be held next month.

At the time of joining the party, Matondkar had explained how her beliefs aligned with those of the party. “One of the criticisms that Bollywood faces is that stars are only visible during elections. But I am not here only for the election. I am here to stay. I am here because I believe in Congress’ ideology,” she said.

However, she said Tuesday that key functionaries of the Mumbai Congress are either unable to or are not committed to transforming the party.

Matondkar said the first thought of resignation came to her mind when she realised that “no action” was being taken despite her “repeated efforts” on her letter dated 16 May addressed to then-Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora. In her letter, she had criticised the conduct of Sandesh Kondvilkar and Bhushan Patil, close associates of Sanjay Nirupam, a former Mumbai Congress president.

“Thereafter, to my utter dismay, the letter containing privileged and confidential communication was conveniently leaked to the media, which according to me was an act of a blatant betrayal,” she said.

“Needless to say, no one from the party was apologetic or even concerned towards me for the same despite my repeated protests.”

Matondkar claimed some of the persons named in her letter for the “shoddy performance” of the Congress in Mumbai North were “rewarded with newer positions” instead of fixing responsibilities.

The statement, however, was mum on her next political move. However, she added that she stood by her “thoughts and ideologies” and will continue to work for the people “with honesty and dignity”.

(With inputs from PTI)


Also read: Difficult for actors to speak up as it invites anti-national tag: Urmila Matondkar