Former Congress leader PC Chacko on Tuesday joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in presence of party chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi.
The former Thrissur MP had quit the grand old party following differences over seat allocation ahead of the Kerala Assembly polls. He had also alleged that groupism is being practiced by the top Congress leaders.
"Kerala is facing a crucial election. People want Congress to come back but there's groupism practiced by top leaders of Congress. I've been arguing with high command that this should be ended. But the high command is also agreeing to the proposal given by both groups," Chacko had said while announcing his resignation.
He added, "I'd been deliberating upon this decision for past many days. I come from Kerala where there's no Congress party as such. There are 2 parties - Congress (I) & Congress (A). It's coordination committee of 2 parties functioning as KPCC."
"Congress has a great tradition. Being a Congress man is prestigious thing but today in Kerala nobody can be a Congress man. One can belong to either 'I group' or 'A group'. So I decided to call it a day. High Command is mute witness to this disaster & there's no remedy," Chacko had further said.
Meanwhile, Chacko on Wednesday again slammed the Congress. "Today, the need is the unity of the opposition. A united opposition should emerge as an alternative to the BJP. I don't see that initiative in the party which I was a member of earlier," he said.
Besides, Sharad Pawar said that Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan called him and told that the Left Front is happy with PC Chacko joining NCP. "There is a need for a third front in the country but it has not been given a shape yet. We have been talking to different parties. Sitaram Yechury has also stated the need for it today," Pawar added.
