Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, a close associate of the Gandhi family and a member of the royal family in Amethi, on Tuesday resigned from the Congress and the Rajya Sabha membership.
He told media at his residence that he would join the BJP on Wednesday and asserted that he would support Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the nation was behind him.
His resignation came on a day when the Opposition was hoping to cobble up the numbers to stop the government from passing the triple talaq Bill.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced in the House that his resignation had been accepted.
Mr. Singh, currently a Rajya Sabha member from Assam, was with the BJP and had won a Lok Sabha election on its ticket.
“The Congress is still in the past, unaware of the future. Today, the country is with PM Modi and if the country is with him, I am with him. I will join BJP tomorrow. I have resigned from the party and my membership of the Rajya Sabha. The Congress is unapproachable and unreachable. I have taken this decision after watching this for a long time,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The party is rudderless, directionless and there is a distance from the people... I am supporting Modi because of ‘sabka sath sabka vikas’,” he said.
“Dialogue and communication are the basis of any political party. There is just no scope for any dialogue in the Congress. Then there is zero leadership. There is no clarity, nothing can be decided. Over months there is a buzz over whether the Congress president will be a young man or an old man... all these things affected my decision.”
Mr. Singh wields considerable influence in Amethi and the BJP is looking to consolidate itself in the region that includes Raebareli, the Lok Sabha seat of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
His wife, Ameeta Singh, who was heading the All India Professional Congress in Uttar Pradesh, also quit the Congress.