Ashwani Kumar, former Law minister, quits Congress; cites leadership vacuum
Former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar on Tuesday resigned from the Congress, ending his 46-year-long association with the grand old party. Kumar sent his resignation to Congress President Sonia Gandhi this morning, saying he can best serve national causes outside the party fold.
After quitting the party, Kumar said that the Congress was not the party it used to be earlier as he highlighted the leadership vacuum in the Grand Old Party. “Congress is not the party that it was…We don’t have a transformative and inspiring leadership to lead the party… I have neither quit politics nor public service, I’ll continue to discharge my obligations to the nation,” he said.
“It was a painful decision. I thought long and hard, and realised the way internal processes of Congress are in place today, I couldn’t continue any longer consistent with my dignity and self-esteem. I thought my shoulders weren’t strong enough to carry weight of indifference,” he added.
“Having given my thoughtful consideration to the matter, I have concluded that in the present circumstances and consistent with my dignity, I can best subserve larger national cause outside the party fold,” Kumar wrote in his resignation letter.
“I am accordingly quitting the party after a long association of 46 years and hope to proactively pursue public causes inspired by the idea of transformative leadership, based on the dignitarian promise of a liberal democracy envisioned by our freedom fighters,” the former Rajya Sabha MP added.
Kumar leaves in the midst of assembly polls in five states and ahead of the February 20 election in Punjab. His resignation comes close on the heels of a spate of resignations, the most recent being that of another former union minister R P N Singh.