New Delhi: Congress leader Kamal Nath arrived in Delhi on Saturday amid reports that he is mulling switching over to the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Madhya Pradesh stalwart, one of the biggest Congress leaders after the influential Gandhi family, has not confirmed the big switch. More importantly, he has not denied it either. Why is "Indira Gandhi's third son" miffed with the Congress?
Kamal Nath's close associate Sajjan Singh Verma hinted that his boss had been insulted. Speaking to ANI, he said the leader's self-respect was hurt.
"Three things work in politics- respect, insult and self-respect, when these are hurt a person changes his decisions...When such a top politician who has done a lot for Congress and the nation in the last 45 years, thinks of moving away from his party, then all three factors work behind it," he said, virtually confirming that there is a rift in the Madhya Pradesh Congress.
Also read: Kamal Nath in Delhi amid BJP switch buzz; Congress says speculation ‘baseless’
He, however, said no decision has been taken as to Kamal Nath quitting the Congress altogether.
{{/usCountry}}He, however, said no decision has been taken as to Kamal Nath quitting the Congress altogether.
{{/usCountry}}"No decision has been made that Kamal Nath ji is going, right there is just speculation," he added.
Verma told HT that Nath was extremely hurt over some undisclosed issue in the Congress. Nath is in Delhi to "meet senior leaders".
According to sources, Kamal Nath had been in touch with BJP leaders since the Congress high command blamed him for the party's debacle in the Madhya Pradesh elections. He was also removed as the Madhya Pradesh Congress president and was not made the leader of opposition in the state assembly.
Kamal Nath was also miffed with the announcement of Ashok Singh's name for Rajya Sabha.
Singh is considered a loyalist of Digvijaya Singh.
Kamal Nath coveted the Rajya Sabha seat.
Congress mollifies Kamal Nath
The Congress party, meanwhile, sought to mollify Kamal Nath by calling him Indira Gandhi's third son.
"For the first time when Kamal Nath fought elections, then Indira Gandhi said that Kamal Nath is her third son...in the 45 years of political journey of Kamal Nath, in both our good times and bad times, he has been working with the party for the last 7 years as Madhya Pradesh Congress chief. I still remember when Scindia toppled the Congress government in MP, all the Congress workers stood with Kamal Nath's leadership and ideology...the news that's speculated is baseless...can you imagine Indira Gandhi's third son leaving Congress? Can't think about something like that even in dreams," said Congress leader Jitu Patwari.
He also claimed the reports of his leaving the Congress are baseless.
"Every Congress worker has worked under Kamal Nath's leadership just two months ago; he cannot leave them (Congress workers)," he added.
Digvijaya Singh claimed he had spoken with Kamal Nath on Friday night.
"The person who started his political career with the Nehru-Gandhi family and stood together when the entire Janata Party and the then central government were sending Indira Gandhi to jail. How can you expect that person (Kamal Nath) to leave Sonia Gandhi and Indira Gandhi's families? You should not expect it," Singh told reporters.
With inputs from Shruti Tomar, ANI, PTI