‘Out of gutter, into the drain’: BJP's Kailash Vijayvargiya on Kanhaiya Kumar joining Congress

Vijayvargiya's remarks followed BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya's assertions that Congress is joining ranks with forces that intend to ‘break’ the political unity in India.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kailash Vijayvargiya hit out at former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar on Tuesday with a pointed remark. Referring to Kumar's decision to leave the Communist Party of India (CPI) and join the Congress instead, Vijayvargiya said, “If someone comes out of the gutter and falls into the drain, then I can only sympathise with him.”

Ex-CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress on Tuesday in Delhi.  (File Photo / HT)

Notably, ex-CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress on Tuesday in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. Addressing the media at Congress headquarters soon after the induction of the youth leader, the party's general secretary KC Venugopal had said, “Kanhaiya Kumar is a symbol of the fight for freedom of expression in this country. He fought against fundamentalism as a student leader. The joining of kind of dynamic personality will fill the entire cadre of Congress with enthusiasm.”

Later on Tuesday, Vijayvargiya's remarks followed BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya's assertions that Congress is joining ranks with forces that intend to ‘break’ the political unity in India. Ahead of Kanhaiya's joining, Malviya had tweeted, "On the anniversary of the surgical strike, Congress to admit Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mewani of “Bharat tere tukde honge” fame. This can’t be a mere coincidence. Joining hands with “Breaking India” forces is now Congress’s raison d’être.”

Ghosh, who is currently the BJP national vice-president, had said on Monday that there is no point in holding elections if the state administration under the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led government cannot conduct an ‘unbiased’ election.