New Delhi: The Congress on Monday played down Gujarat unit working president Ambarish Der quitting the party and said it was yet another attempt by the BJP to disrupt Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra which will enter the western state on March 7.
“This is nothing but yet another attempt by the BJP to disrupt Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. People could be leaving the party either due to some threat or allurement or any other reason. People have left the Congress in the past too but our support base is intact. Der’s leaving will have no impact on the party and the yatra would go on as scheduled,” AICC secretary in charge of Gujarat Ram Kishan Ojha told this channel.
Ambarish Der, an MLA from Rajula constituency, sent his resignation letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday saying he was quitting all party posts. In a tit for tat approach, the Gujarat Congress expelled him for six years, said party insiders.
Der, an Ahir community leader, stated in his resignation letter that he got elected to the state assembly on a Congress ticket and was thankful to the grand old party for all the cooperation that he received in the past. According to Congress insiders, Der had been upset over the high command’s decision to boycott the inauguration of Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. He is expected to join the BJP.
There were reports that Der’s mentor and Porbandar MLA Arjun Modhwadia too was upset with the high command and planning to leave the Grand Old Party. The fears came true shortly after Ambarish's move, as Modhwadia also put in his papers on Monday afternoon. "The BJP wants to present a picture that the opposition is having problems ahead of the Lok Sabha polls but that is not the case. The BJP has been in power in the state for decades but still needs to resort to such tactics. Former state working president Hardik Patel had left us before the 2022 assembly polls but it had no impact on the party,” a senior AICC functionary said.
Party insiders said similar disruptions took place when Rahul’s yatra was in Assam, where permissions were denied by the state government, in Bihar where JD-U quit the Congress-RJD-Left alliance government and joined hands with the BJP, in Jharkhand where there was an attempt to topple the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition government, and in UP where RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary was made to quit the INDIA bloc.
“Rahul Gandhi’s yatra has received a huge response across the country so far. The Gujarat leg would be crucial as our leader would address several two public meetings per day. He has been and will question the central government in the home state of PM Modi and HM Shah,” said Ojha.
The yatra will enter through Jhalod in Dahod district on March 7 and cover seven districts and 14 of the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies. The yatra will pass through Panchmahal, Chhota Udepur, Bharuch, Tapi, Surat and Navsari districts and cover 467 km.
“The Congress-AAP alliance as part of the INDIA block will strongly counter the BJP in Gujarat,” said Ojha. As part of the deal, the Congress will contest 24 seats and AAP 2 seats out of total 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat.
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