'Can best serve India's interests outside party fold'; ex-law minister Ashwani Kumar quits Congress after 46 years

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, February 15

Former law minister and Rajya Sabha ex-MP from Punjab Ashwani Kumar on Tuesday resigned from the Congress ending 46 years of association with the party.

Sending his resignation to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Kumar said he could best serve national interests outside the Congress fold.

“Having given my thoughtful consideration to the matter, I have concluded that in the present circumstances and consistent with my dignity, I can best serve larger national causes outside the party fold. I am accordingly quitting the party after a long association of 46 years and hope to proactively pursue public causes inspired by the idea of transformative leadership, based on the dignitarian promise of a liberal democracy envisioned by our freedom fighters,” 69-year-old Kumar said in his letter to Gandhi.

Kumar, whose two generations have been associated with the Congress, blamed his decision on “lack of leadership” in the party.

Noting that he had persevered enough in the party, Kumar said the Congress was unable to reinvent itself and continued to decline.

The former law minister said the recent controversies around the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Padma Bhushan to Ghulam Nabi Azad further cemented his decision to quit.

Kumar also criticised the manner in which the Congress “treated former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh”.

“The former CM was humiliated publicly and that was against the principles the Congress has stood for,” said Kumar.

He also questioned the open vying for the post of chief ministership in Punjab (between CM Charanjit Singh Channi and PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu) saying it showed the party in “very poor light”.

Kumar said the Aam Aadmi Party was about to win Punjab and added that the Congress as a national party faced a major challenge with regional players emerging much stronger.

The former minister said he had not decided on the future course of action but would remain in active politics to serve the interests of “people of the country”.

Kumar has been a vocal advocate of “dignity and respect in politics”.

“I didn’t feel I belong to the Congress anymore,” the veteran, who served in the cabinet of former PM Manmohan Singh between 2004 and 2014, said as he signed off from the grand old party.