Shehzad Poonawalla had written a long letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2017 before resigning from the party. The letter was in complete contrast to his resignation letter to the BJP, which he submitted last month. His letter to Rahul was also way longer and critical of the party's dynastic politics.
After quitting BJP, Poonawalla clarified that there is no way he was returning to Congress. Replying to the same question, he sarcastically told NDTV, “I will join the Congress on one condition: Remove Rahul Gandhi, remove Sonia Gandhi, remove Priyanka Vadra, apologise for Nehru's actions.”
What went wrong between Poonawalla and Congress in 2017?
Poonawalla joined the Congress in 2008 and, after what he described in his letter as eight years of putting his 'energy and money' for progress of the party, was made secretary of the Maharashtra Congress unit in 2016. However, by 2017, he had begun moving away from the party, citing what he described as an unfair election to choose the Congress president. He eventually resigned in December 2017.
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{{/usCountry}}In his letter to Rahul Gandhi, Poonawalla mentioned about the same election and wrote that the choice of the party president would be obvious because the system was "rigged".
He went on to question whether the Congress was a "private limited company" or a Bollywood "khan-dan", referring to Rahul becoming Congress general secretary the same year.
"Rahul ji, during the 2002 Gujarat riots while I was in school, I read in my text books about Nehru, Azad & Gandhi and it was natural for folks like me to fall in love with the Congress ideology. It has a glorious history of over 100 years, it led the freedom struggle & had a solid track record towards building India since independence.
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"When you took over in 2007 I did not like your direct placement. Is it a private limited company or some Bollywood 'khan-dan' I asked myself. I heard you speak and articulate your plans to 'change the system'. I was willing to give my first love time – the Congress time to evolve into the party a million nobodies like me truly desired. One where merit and talent counts more than the feudal systems of dynastic political patronage and sycophantic loyalty," Poonawalla wrote in the letter.
Why did Poonawalla leave BJP?
Poonawalla's decided to quit the BJP because of “financial and personal” circumstances’ that required him to return to the private sector.
The 38-year-old BJP national spokesperson submitted his resignation from all party posts and primary membership to party president Nitin Nabin on Monday. He had first offered to resign on July 30, but the party asked him to reconsider.
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After "long and hard contemplation", Poonawalla said he decided to stick to his decision.
"Due to pressing emergency financial and personal circumstances, I will move into the private sector, but wherever possible and in whatever format possible, I will continue to support the vision and work of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP," he said.
"I am only leaving the Vyavastha (organisation) not the Vyakti (people) or Vichar (ideology)," Poonawalla added.