Prashant Jagtap, who joined the Congress on Friday, visited the Congress Bhavan in Pune on Saturday. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Jagtap said he felt the "energy" of the place and the "responsibility that comes with it."
Jagtap wrote, "After joining the Indian National Congress, the oldest political party in India that led the country to independence, I stepped into the Congress Bhavan in Pune for the first time today. I have visited this Congress Bhavan many times before, but today, for the first time, I felt the energy of this place and the responsibility that comes with it."
"When Mahatma Gandhi first visited this Congress Bhavan, he had remarked, 'May this building become the home of true servants, that is, of those who serve the people.' Today, I felt the weight of this responsibility of becoming a true servant of the nation. This Congress Bhavan has witnessed many events of the freedom movement, and I am confident that this same Congress Bhavan will become the main centre for future progressive movements," he added.
On this occasion, Jagtap said he interacted with the City President of Congress, Arvind Shinde, former Minister of State Ramesh Bagwe, senior leader Abhay Chhajed, former MLA Deepti Chaudhary and others. "I expressed my confidence that I will work shoulder to shoulder with all of them going forward," he concluded.
Jagtap quit the NCP-SP on Tuesday after opposing the party's plan to align with the Ajit Pawar-led faction for civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.
Before Jagtap joined the Congress, he reportedly received calls from both Shiv Sena factions. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde both called Jagtap, urging him to join their respective parties. However, Jagtap reportedly told them that he believes in the ideology of the Congress and would therefore join the party.
