Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday denied reports that Jyotiraditya Scindia had been denied an audience with Sonia Gandhi and him before he decided to leave the party.
"He is the only chap in Congress who could walk into my house anytime," Gandhi was quoted as saying by ANI.
Scindia had been considered a close associate of Gandhi's and many had even considered him a viable candidate for becoming the party President, should the Gandhis step aside.
Incidentally, Scindia and Rahul Gandhi were briefly batch-mates at the prestigious Doon School. They also bonded over being health nuts.
Scindia was practically Rahul’s wingman in the Lok Sabha, giving the former Congress president advice or a nudge. Kamal Nath is also a product of that elite boarding school. Scindia also shared an office with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra when he was UP Election in-charge along with her.
On Wednesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also retweeted a 2018 picture that features him with Scindia and Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
The old photo of the trio bears the caption: "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. - Leo Tolstoy"
In a resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, Scindia had said that he was no longer able to serve the people of India from "within this party".
"I am tendering my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress and as you well know, this is a path that has been drawing itself out over the last year," he had written.
Earlier on Wednesday, Scindia joined the BJP in the presence of party chief JP Nadda.
Speaking at the induction ceremony he said that the party was no longer how it used to be.
"Congress was not following the path of truth and consistently failing in public service, then I decided to resign from the party. The Congress party is not anymore the party that it was earlier. There are three reasons to it, first - rejecting the realities, second - living in their own false created realities and third - not giving proper leadership to party workers on the basis of abilities. This is the condition of the party at the national level," he added.
After Scindia's resignation, 22 Congress MLAs had followed suit. While the Congress claims that many of the rebel leaders do not actually wish to leave the party, the politicians in question seem to be claiming otherwise. 22 videos were released on Wednesday debunking the party's theory. In the videos, the Scindia supporters can be seen expressing solidarity and support for him.
(With inputs from agencies)
