New Delhi: Industrialist and former MP Naveen Jindal quit the Congress and joined the BJP on Sunday, saying he wants to contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda of 'Viksit Bharat'.
He joined the BJP in the presence of its general secretary Vinod Tawde, who said Jindal's presence in the party will help the government's agenda of boosting the country's economy and prosperity. Tawde noted that the Jindal Steel chairperson has a keen interest in sports and education as well. Jindal represented Kurukshetra constituency in Lok Sabha between 2004-14.
"I represented Congress Party in Parliament as MP from Kurukshetra for 10 years. I thank the Congress leadership and the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Today, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress Party," he tweeted on Sunday evening.
Congress called his resignation a "big joke" and said he had made "zero contributions" to the party. "When you need a giant-size washing machine, this had to happen. And after making ZERO contributions to the party in the last ten years, saying I am resigning from it is a big joke," Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. He also shared a few snippets of news stories about Jindal's alleged involvement in a coal scam.
Jindal, while speaking to media, showered praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "It is a matter of fortune for me that BJP has given me this opportunity. Today, on the auspicious occasion of Holi, my aim is to bring more happiness to the country. We will work towards making the lives of people better under the leadership of PM Modi. I have full confidence that we are all trying to make our India a developed India, and we will get success in it," he said.
The industrialist said he will take whatever responsibility the saffron party hands him. "Whatever responsibility the BJP will give me, I will fulfil that responsibility well. I have been with Congress for the last 10 years. I was not active in the party, I have not attended any of their programs in the last 10 years and I have been completely separated from any political party for the last 10 years. I was only focused on my work, social work, and university. So I don't think that my resignation will make any difference to them (Congress) because I neither had any charge there nor was I ever an official of any kind in the party," he said.
"It's been 10 years since I was there, I fulfilled my responsibilities there and for the last 10 years, I have been completely away from the Congress Party. I am not active in any way, so I don't think it will make any difference to them. Now that I am coming into political life and I have joined the BJP, so now by following the policies of the BJP, we all together will try to build the India of our dreams," the industrialist said.
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