Raipur: A day after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), veteran BJP leader from Chhattisgarh Nand Kumar Sai joined Congress on Monday. The three-time MP, who has accused some party men of hatching a 'conspiracy' against him, also said 'false allegations' were levelled to malign his image.
The 77-year-old tribal leader, who submitted his resignation to state BJP president Arun Sao on Sunday, is his resignation letter said, "False allegations are being levelled against me. This has hurt my dignity. I am very sad. After much consideration, I decided to resign from the primary membership of the BJP and all posts. Whatever responsibilities the party gave me, I discharged them with full dedication. I express my gratitude to the party for it, but for the last few years, with the aim of tarnishing my image in the Bharatiya Janata Party, political rivals within my own party have continuously hurt my dignity by making false allegations and other activities against me".
He joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, party's state chief Mohan Markam and ministers at Rajiv Bhawan, the party state headquarters here.
Sai said the BJP's form has changed. It was a tough decision of my life (to quit the BJP) as I was associated with it since the Jana Sangh time. I have worked with Atal ji (former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee), Advani ji, Sushma Swaraj ji and other senior leaders and followed them."
Sai said before quitting, he was not holding any position in the BJP and was an ordinary worker. He was the Chhattisgarh BJP chief between 2003-05 and he was the Madhya Pradesh BJP chief from 1997 to 2000 before Chhattisgarh was carved out from MP in 2000. In 2017, Sai was inducted as the head of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST). He has also been a two-time Lok Sabha MP and three-time MLA in the past.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and PCC Chief Mohan Markam welcomed him into the party fold. If Congress sources are to be believed, Sai can get a prominent post in Congress. Baghel targeted the BJP and the Center regarding Mann Ki Baat. In a Tweet, the CM said, "Nand Kumar Sai ji has spoken the mind of the tribals and about himself." Along with this tweet, the CM has also posted Sai's resignation.
