Amid speculations of his plans to quit the Congress, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday said the party had gone astray and was no longer the same Congress.
Denials apart, Hooda’s comments have fuelled rumours of the senior Congress leader’s plans to float a new political outfit or even join the BJP.
Addressing the mega ‘Mahaparivartan’ rally in Rohtak, Hooda joined the league of Congress leaders supporting the abrogation of Article 370. He, in fact, said he would support the right decisions of the Narendra Modi government.
“My four generations have been in the Congress. If the Centre does right, I will support it. They removed Article 370. My party and many of my colleagues in the Congress opposed it. My party has gone astray and is not the same Congress. But I am a patriot and have self-respect. Therefore, I support the abrogation of 370,” he said.
“Our brothers are deployed as soldiers in Kashmir and hence, I support it,” he added.
At the same time, Hooda was critical of the BJP in Haryana for its alleged failures.
“The Haryana government will have to give an account of what they did in five years. They cannot hide behind this decision as they have no role in the removal of 370,” he said.
The Congress and the Opposition are in disarray in Haryana, which goes to Assembly elections in just over two months from now.
Hooda’s ‘Mahaparivartan’ rally is seen as a show of strength. Sources said he met Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders of the Congress in New Delhi on Saturday, but the meeting remained inconclusive.
Hooda does not share a good rapport with state party president Ashok Tanwar and wants complete control ahead of the elections.
The Congress could not win a single seat out of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in the recently concluded general elections.
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