Reacting sharply to the Congress leadership’s decision to expel him, Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Sunday (February 11) said that the party should have expelled him for 14 years instead of six as Lord Ram was also sent to exile for the same period and there cannot be any compromise on “Ram and Rashtra”. Asking if visiting Ayodhya on the Pran Pratishtha day was against the party, he told the Congress leadership to explain what his “anti-party activities” were. This comes after the party president Mallikarjun Kharge, on late Saturday night, expelled Krishnam from the party citing “indiscipline and repeated statements against the party”.
Krishnam addresses press conference
"KC Venugopal in the letter has said that I have been expelled for anti-party activities. First of all, I thank Congress leadership for freeing me from the party. Along with this, I want to ask them what activities were there that were against the party,?" Krishnam said while addressing a press conference.
"Secondly, I wish the Congress party to expel me for 14 years instead of 6 years. Lord Rama was also expelled for 14 years," he added.
Listing out his recent activities, he asked the Congress leadership if they amount to “anti-party activities”.
“Taking the name of Lord Rama or going to Ayodhya or accepting the invitation of Pran Pratishtha event or laying the foundation of Shri Kalki Dham or meeting Narendra Modi ji is anti-party activity? These are my questions from the leadership of Congress and they must tell the people what are the things that are anti-party activities,” he said.
Krishnam on Article 370
Highlighting that he did not agree with the party’s stand on the abrogation of Article 370, the former Congress leader said that there were several such issues where the party should not have taken the stand it did.
"There were many decisions taken by the Congress party that I did not agree with, like opposing the abrogation of Article 370. Congress should not have opposed this. Congress should not have supported DMK leaders when they compared Sanatana Dharma with Dengue and Malaria. I want to clarify one thing, no compromise should be made on Ram and Rashtra. Today, I got free," Krishnam said.
Why did Krishnam not leave Congress despite disagreements?
Revealing the reason behind his not ending his association with Congress despite his longtime disagreements, Krishnam said that he had vowed to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi that he would not leave the party until his last moment.
"I have been connected through Congress for years. Rajesh Pilot made me meet Rajeev Gandhi Ji. I said then that I won't leave Congress till I die. I have made my promises. There were many issues of Congress that I did not agree with. Like the abrogation of Article 370, triple Talaq, Congress should not have opposed it," he said.
He said that Congress started insulting him and yet he did not leave the party due to the promise he made to Rajiv Gandhi.
"The party started insulting me. I have faced a lot of insults, yet I didn't leave the party. The promise that I made to Rajiv Gandhi, used to come in between and hence I did not leave the party. I also thought that the person who does not know how to respect people who have stood with their grandparents, from Ghulam Nahi Azad to Kamal Nath, from Bhupendra Singh Hooda to Digvijaya Singh and Anand Sharma. These are the people who were with Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi. They were the people who held the hands of Rahul Gandhi and made him learn how to walk," he added.
Veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi
Without taking the name of Rahul Gandhi, Krishnam said that he has started “hating the country” due to his hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The question is of the future of the country. I know that in a democracy, a strong opposition is necessary. But in the name of strong opposition, they only have hate against one person. Being in opposition doesn't mean hating your prime minister. I have to say that it is unfortunate that he hates PM Modi to the extent that now he has started to hate the country. A person who doesn't respect his mother or sister, how will he respect others?” he said.
"Sachin Pilot has been disrespected a lot in the party and like Lord Shiv, he is gulping the poison. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also being disrespected...You should ask her why she is not joining Rahul Gandhi in his Yatra. The question is who is giving instructions to disrespect them because our president (Mallikarjun Kharge) is just a rubber stamp," Krishnam added.
Will stand by PM Modi for nation’s development: Pramod Krishnam
He said that he will stand by PM Modi from now on for the nation’s development.
"I am happy to say that I did not leave Congress. I did not break the promise that I made with Rajiv Gandhi. But from today, for the nation's development, I will stand by the prime minister of the country. Shri Kalki Dham foundation laying ceremony will be held on February 19. And I am proud that PM Modi will be attending the event. I thank UP CM Yogi Adityanath ji as well for accepting the invitation to come to Shri Kalki Dham," he said.
When asked about joining hands with the BJP, Krishnam said, "I don't know where I will go. I have faith in god. I will go wherever God takes me. I am with Modi ji because he is with the country."
The decision to expel Krishnam was taken by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday after a proposal seeking his dismissal from the party was mooted by the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
"In view of the complaints of indiscipline and repeated statements against the party. Congress President has approved the proposal of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee to expel Pramod Krishnam from the party for six years with immediate effect," read an official statement issued by the Congress on Saturday.
(With ANI inputs)
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