After spending 46 years in the Congress, SM Krishna will start his second political innings with the BJP by addressing election rallies for the party in Gundlupet and Nanjangud, the grey assembly constitutes where by-elections will be held next month.
“As per the directions of the party president (BS Yeddyurappa), I will campaign hard for the BJP’s victory in the by-elections,” Krishna told reporters on Friday evening when he was welcomed into the party office with a Shuddhi (purification) ritual conducted by a dozen priests. Yeddyurappa, who is bring credited with orchestrating the shift, cut short his campaign rally in Gundlupet to receive Krishna at the BJP office in the capital city.
Slamming the Congress for pursuing dynastic politics, he revealed that his decision to join rival BJP we not taken in haste.
“I met (BJP national president) Amit Shah nine months ago and we discussed several issues in depth,” he said, indicating that Yeddyurappa was not the only one in talks with him. He also recalled his replacement as foreign minister during the UPA regime as the turning point in his relations with the Congress.
“I was about to board a flight to Venice when I received a call asking me to cancel the trip and meet Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. They removed me all of a sudden without any warning,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“I was about to board a flight to Venice when I received a call asking me to cancel the trip and meet Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. They removed me all of a sudden without any warning,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Read | Rahul’s hit-and-run politics won’t work, says SM Krishna after joining BJP
Krishna was effusive in his praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose demonetisation drive he described as a “bold tool to curb black money”. He even criticised his own term as external affairs minister saying, “When I was the minister, Pakistan did not understand the language we were speaking.” He said Modi had given a more fitting reply to Pakistan through the surgical strike that he commissioned.