A day after Congress Tom Vadakkan shifted his party from Congress to Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress president Rahul Gandhi spoke on the development. When asked about what effect Vadakkan leaving the Congress would have on the party, Rahul Gandhi said, “Vadakkan? No, no Vadakkan is not a big leader.”
In a brief interaction with media persons, Rahul Gandhi talked down Vadakkan exit from the party and also sought to bring focus on the three issues that the party has been using to attack the BJP and PM Modi. “The biggest issue is unemployment. Narendra Modi fail. The second big issue is that of corruption. You must have heard of Rafale. And the third issue is of farmers”, said the Congress Chief.
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In a surprise move, Vadakkan who had been the Gandhi family loyalist for the past 20years, joined the BJP on Thursday. At the media briefing announcing his move to the BJP, Vadakkan, who had spent two decades with the party media department, criticised the Congress party response to the air strikes India had launched on Balakot in Pakistan, in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans.
“I left the party with a heavy heart. If a party is working against national interest, there is no other option but to leave it”, Vadakkan told reporters. Vadakkan said he gave the Congress two decades of his life but the party has now resorted to the practice of “use and throw”.