Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Thursday said that he cannot think of joining the Bharatiya Janata Party and it will be "over his dead body". The remarks came a day after Jitin Prasada left Congress and joined the saffron party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.
"We're true Congressmen, never in my life will I think of joining BJP, like over my dead body. It could be that if Congress leadership informs me to leave, I may think of leaving party on that basis but won't join BJP," Sibal said.
He took a dig at Prasada saying that they are moving towards 'Prasada' politics and change parties basis opportunities. "I am not against what Jitin Prasada did as there must be some reason which hasn't been disclosed, but joining BJP is something I cannot understand. It shows we are moving from 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' to 'Prasada' politics, jahan prasad mile, you join that party," Sibal said.
Sibal mentioned that the Congress leadership would have listened to the issues as no organisation can survive without listening others. "If you don't listen, you will fall into bad days," Sibal said.
On June 9, Prasada joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal and its chief spokesperson Anil Baluni. Prasada was part of the group of 23 leaders who had written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last October seeking organisational overhaul and elections at all levels, triggering a storm in the party.
The 47-year-old former Union minister, who comes from a well-known Brahmin family of Uttar Pradesh, refrained from attacking the Congress leadership but said he had realised that it was no longer possible for him to serve people and protect their interests while remaining in his former party. Noting that his family had been associated with the Congress for three generations, he said he had reflected long before severing the ties, and asserted that it was not about which party he was quitting but which he was joining.
He is the son of Jitendra Prasada, a key Congress leader who had served at important political positions during the prime ministership of Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao.
With inputs from PTI
"We're true Congressmen, never in my life will I think of joining BJP, like over my dead body. It could be that if Congress leadership informs me to leave, I may think of leaving party on that basis but won't join BJP," Sibal said.
He took a dig at Prasada saying that they are moving towards 'Prasada' politics and change parties basis opportunities. "I am not against what Jitin Prasada did as there must be some reason which hasn't been disclosed, but joining BJP is something I cannot understand. It shows we are moving from 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' to 'Prasada' politics, jahan prasad mile, you join that party," Sibal said.
Sibal mentioned that the Congress leadership would have listened to the issues as no organisation can survive without listening others. "If you don't listen, you will fall into bad days," Sibal said.
On June 9, Prasada joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal and its chief spokesperson Anil Baluni. Prasada was part of the group of 23 leaders who had written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last October seeking organisational overhaul and elections at all levels, triggering a storm in the party.
The 47-year-old former Union minister, who comes from a well-known Brahmin family of Uttar Pradesh, refrained from attacking the Congress leadership but said he had realised that it was no longer possible for him to serve people and protect their interests while remaining in his former party. Noting that his family had been associated with the Congress for three generations, he said he had reflected long before severing the ties, and asserted that it was not about which party he was quitting but which he was joining.
He is the son of Jitendra Prasada, a key Congress leader who had served at important political positions during the prime ministership of Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao.
With inputs from PTI
First Published: Jun 10, 2021 8:27 PM IST
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