Mumbai, Jun 23 : A day after he vowed that he will remain in the party, BJP's Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde today announced he would undertake a statewide tour to communicate with party workers and “inspire” them.
“I will meet workers and understand their views and inspire them because they are in anguish. All BJP workers will now come together and strengthen the party in the state,” he told reporters here, shortly after his arrival from Delhi. Munde rubbished reports that he was on the verge of leaving BJP to join Congress.
“Neither was Congress in contact with me nor was I in touch with Congress. There is no question of me joining Congress,” he said.
“I have brought lakhs of workers into BJP fold and moulded them. I was in BJP, am in BJP and will be in BJP. People have now realised the worth of those who tried to corner me,” he said.
“It is also not true that (while in Delhi), I met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Neither did I meet Ahmed Patel (political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi). I have never met Patel in my life. Some people tried to defame me by spreading these rumours,” he said.
Munde, who was sulking for over a fortnight after his supporter was sidelined for the post of Pune BJP chief and party chief Nitin Gadkari's loyalist was brought in, said, “I think the real face of those who tried to malign me has been exposed to people of Maharashtra.” PTI
