The Congress on Tuesday lost yet another leader, Ashwini Kumar, after an association of 46 years with the party. This is the second high-profile resignation after RPN Singh left the party last month.
Kumar had been a law minister in the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government between 2009 and 2014. After his resignation, Kumar was reported to have said that the Congress has lost touch with ground reality and no longer reflects the national mood.
His resignation comes amid the Assembly elections in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur.
In the resignation letter Kumar sent to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, he wrote: “Having given my thoughtful consideration to the matter, I have concluded that in the present circumstances and consistent with my dignity, I can best subserve larger national cause outside the party fold.”
Kumar’s letter also read, “While paying my respectful regards, I thank you for the consideration extended to me in the past and wish you good health in the years ahead.”
The former Rajya Sabha MP in his letter wrote, “I am accordingly quitting the party after a long association of 46 years.”
Talking to The Indian Express, Kumar said: “The continuous decline of the Congress in terms of vote percentage, in terms of popular support clearly shows that the party is out of sync with the way the nation thinks.”
Interestingly, Kumar is the first senior Union Minister to quit the party after Congress lost power in 2014. Moreover, he was counted among Gandhi family loyalists and was considered one of the party’s veterans.
Ironically, when the party was reeling under the dissensions – G-23 calling for major reforms in the party including a demand of Installation of full-time leadership in the party,
Kumar had strongly opposed the move and defended the Gandhis. Furthermore, he had criticised the letter writers.