Sidelined, dissatisfied, unhappy: Two senior leaders to quit Congress

Ahmedabad: Two Senior Congress leaders in Gujarat have announced quitting from the party and joining BJP in the coming month, claiming that they felt sidelined, dissatisfied and unhappy. They also claimed that they were impressed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's developmental works, IANS reported.

Former Congress minister Naresh Rawal, one of the two, said,

"I have many grievances with the party, but this is not the right time to talk about all these issues, but have decided to say 'Jai Hind' to the party. I will soon be joining the BJP, and whatever the party leadership give the work, will do."

Rawal was a three-time Congress MLA from the Vijapur assembly seat of Mehsana district in Gujarat.

Rajya Sabha MP Raju Parmar, the second Congress leader, told IANS, "I have been associated with the Congress for the last 35 years, I don't have any complaint against the party, but unfortunately, the party leadership has started giving importance to newcomers, I have never demanded any posts or favours from the party, unfortunately, the party is not giving an opportunity to repay the party debt. Many more senior leaders are going to quit soon."

However, senior Congress leader Arjun Modhvadia to the two leaders' announcement, saying, "Both are senior leaders, the party gave them a lot of opportunities. Naresh Rawal was made minister of state for home and leader of the opposition for a short period. Nominated as assembly candidate for five terms, he got elected thrice. Raju Parmar was sent thrice to Rajya Sabha, and he was made chairman of the Scheduled Caste Commission, but now if they have any grievances that should have been discussed within the party, their quitting will have an impact on the party's image and building anti-party perception."