Congress leaders expressed surprise and sadness over the resignation of its veteran leader from Maharashtra, Milind Deora, from the party. The party’s national general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the timing of the move was “decided” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said Deora’s exit would not hurt the party.
Ramesh said “The Prime Minister has decided this [timing of the announcement], there is no doubt about it”.
Deora’s announcement came just ahead of the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,’ led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, which was set to begin from Manipur on Sunday.
The senior Congress leader added that Deora had spoken with him over phone on Friday and requested that he wanted to speak with Rahul Gandhi over his concerns over the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) laying claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat.
“He messaged me on Friday at 8:52 AM and then at 2:47 PM I replied, ‘Are you planning a switch?’. At 2:48 he sent a message, ‘is speaking to you not possible?’ I said I will call you and at 3:40, I spoke to him,” he said.
Jairam Ramesh also invoked Milind Deora’s father and said, “He (Murli Deora, father of Milind Deora) was a big leader of our party and he had a friendship with all parties, but he was a stalwart Congressman. I remember him today.”
However, Ramesh claimed that Deora’s exit “will have no effect” on the party. “One Milind Deora will go, but lakhs of other Milind Deoras will join us. It will not affect our organisation at all,” he said.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he had a “good conversation” with Deroa when they met last time. “What can I say? If someone wishes to leave the party, they can. I met him last time in Nagpur and had a good conversation with him,” Adhir Ranjan said.
Varsha Gaikwad, Mumbai Congress chief, said the party is “deeply saddened” by Milind Deora’s resignation.
“Congress and Deora family always had a unique equation. After reading his post (on X), me and the entire Congress party are deeply saddened. I and the officer-in-charge both tried to have a discussion with him (Milind Deora). We are all part of a family, and we should stick together,” Gaikwad said.
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said he “will be surprised if someone like him, after leaving Congress would join an alliance party of the BJP”. He said, “There are two big weaknesses in humans and those are greed and fear…”
Milind Deora, former MP and a prominent Congress leader from Maharashtra, announced on Sunday that he has resigned from the Congress party. “Today marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in my political journey,” he said. The 47-year-old leader is expected to join Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.