Gourav Vallabh quits Congress for BJP

New Delhi, April 4

Gourav Vallabh, a spokesperson of the Congress for the last 10 years, on Thursday joined the BJP saying he did not have the capacity to abuse “Sanatan Dharma” and India’s wealth creators, or to disregard the Ram Mandir invitation like the Congress did.

He followed former colleagues and Congress spokespersons Jaiveer Shergill and Shehzad Poonawalla into the BJP. Joining the saffron ranks in the presence of general secretary Vinod Tawd, Vallabh said he had resigned from the Congress after chronic and long-standing differences with the party over key ideological issues.

“How can the Congress remain silent on rampant abuses of Sanatan Dharma by its allies? INDIA bloc allies abused Sanatan Dharma and Congress said nothing about it. How can you remain silent on matters of faith? I don’t have the capacity to abuse my religion, or the wealth creators of the country day in and day out,” Vallabh said.

He added that in his long career as a Congress spokesperson, he had never attacked individuals. “I had joined the Congress hoping for respect for intellectual integrity but I was wrong. People with integrity are being ignored there. Today, I’ve decided to join BJP, which I feel is a party where I can contribute to nation-building. I am happy to associate with PM Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat,” said Vallabh.

He earlier sent a resignation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. In the letter, he said the Congress was “directionless”. Former Bihar Congress president Anil Sharma also joined the BJP today. — TNS

Directionless party

I felt uncomfortable in a directionless Congress. I am a Hindu by birth and a teacher by profession. Not attending the Ram Mandir consecration has troubled me. Many people associated with the party and the INDIA bloc speak against Sanatan Dharma and the party’s silence on it is like giving it tacit approval. — vallabh’s resignation letter