Ending his 35-year-long association with Congress, Jagmeet Brar, the former member of CWC, on Monday announced to resign from the party, accusing it of having been reduced to "a mere self-serving family undertaking". Though Brar refused to announce joining of any other political outfit after severing ties with Congress, yet he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his style of functioning and raising the drug issue while stating that BJP does not follow dynastic politics.
The former Lok Sabha MP, who was suspended in August last year after he criticised the party's functioning, further, alleged that the party lacked "internal democracy" and was surrounded by "sycophants", leading to "marginalisation" of regional party leaders.
Addressing media in Chandigarh, Brar said he could not tolerate the "humiliation", caused by his party, stating that in the recent past, there had been a number of "dishonourable sanctions" against him for "speaking out" his mind to uphold the democratic values. "And I have waited long enough to see them revoked," he said. "I cannot tolerate this dishonour anymore, and have decided not to extend the wait for its revocation anymore. I have been asking myself: Who controls the controller in this party," he questioned.
"As it seems, the political sincerity in my old political party is understood not in terms of the sincere political action, political service to the nation, but rather the political sincerity is measured by the amount of sycophancy, to which my ethical, moral political will could not be ready all these years," he said.
Party democracy demands that the people at the grassroots level decided who should lead them, not the so-called high command in Delhi, he said, adding, "In this oligarchic attitude I miss the democratic credentials which our great leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had once conferred on this mother of all political parties in India." "In the meantime, this great party that had once brought independence to our great nation has been reduced to a mere "self-serving family undertaking", which shares the party functioning, at the maximum, with a small number of party oligarchs, which envelop and insulate it from a common dialogue ultra-necessary for the democratic functioning of any political party," he alleged.
Brar said, "with a brief note to the Congress President (Sonia Gandhi) on December 23, I have tendered my resignation from the primary membership of the All India Congress Committee, breaking all connections whatsoever with it. "With that I have ended a long era spanning 35 years of my dedicated, selfless and honest allegiance to, as I said, this mother of all political parties in India, the Congress..." he said.
Brar said he had "obeyed" senior Congress leaders, including late Indira Gandhi, late Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, during his association with the party. "I obeyed them for 35 years," he said. Brar said he had been waiting for the past five months that "good sense" would prevail in Congress party. "I have been waiting for past 5 months that good sense will prevail in my party and it will give me a chance to clarify my position. But it did not happen," he claimed.
Along with Brar and associates, his brother and former MLA Ripjit Brar also quit Congress party. Brar claimed that there was no introspection within the party even after it faced "humiliating" results during the last Lok Sabha polls with winning just 44 seats. "I see the future of the party is bleak where there is no internal democracy," he said.
The 56-year-old politician has been under suspension since August last year after he gave vent to his feelings following the rout of the party in the Lok Sabha elections. Brar was suspended in August last year after he criticised the party's functioning and suggested that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi should take a break and hand over the party's reins to somebody else.
When asked which party he will now join, Brar said, "I have decided not to join any party before consulting my friends. Whatever my well wishers and associates decide I will abide by it." However, Brar praised Narendra Modi's functioning as a Prime Minister during the past seven months, saying he has emerged as a "determined" leader.
He also appreciated Modi for raising drug issue on a radio programme. "I appreciate him (Modi)... Punjab is not facing a political crisis, it is facing crisis of survival of next generation. I appreciate the step of government of India on drug menace," he said. In the same breath, Brar also said he does not see BJP is a communal party and it does not follow dynastic politics as being practiced by other political outfits like SAD.
Brar had joined Congress in 1979 and had become General Secretary of Punjab Youth Congress. He had defeated Sukhbir Badal from Faridkot Parliamentary constituency in 1999. Brar remained member of Congress Working Committee during 2004 till 2013. He had also been a General Secretary of All India Congress Committee from 2009 till 2013.
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