Sanjay Nirupam, an ex-MP, took a swipe at the Congress leadership on Thursday over his expulsion, alleging it was done after he submitted his resignation letter.
In response to complaints of indiscipline and anti-party statements, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge approved Nirupam’s expulsion from the party for six years with immediate effect late Wednesday evening.
On Thursday morning, former Mumbai Congress chief Nirupam in a post on X said, “Looks like, immediately after the party received my resignation letter last night, they decided to issue my expulsion. Good to see such promptness.” In the letter to Kharge, Nirupam said, “I have finally decided to fulfil your much awaited desire and hereby announce that I chose to resign from the primary membership of the All India Congress Committee.” Nirupam, who was eyeing the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, was miffed with the party for allowing the Shiv Sena (UBT) to take the seat for the upcoming parliamentary polls.
In the course of seat-sharing discussions for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance for Lok Sabha elections, Nirupam castigated the Maharashtra Congress leadership for “ceding” Mumbai constituencies to Uddhav Thackeray.
On Wednesday, the Congress dropped Nirupam from its list of star campaigners, signaling the crisis was escalating.
Nirupam then launched a sharp attack, saying that due to the party’s “serious financial crisis”, it should use its stationery and energy to save itself, referencing the Income Tax Department’s tax demands.
As well as this, the former MP from Mumbai North said that the Congress leadership should not give in to the Shiv Sena’s (UBT) arm-twisting.
According to him, allowing the Shiv Sena (UBT) to field candidates unilaterally in Mumbai would destroy Congress.
A former Shiv Sainik, Nirupam quit Shiv Sena in 2005.
After taking up the cause of north Indian hawkers, he was able to make his way into Congress, winning the Mumbai North seat in 2009.
Nirupam lost the 2014 elections from the same constituency against BJP’s Gopal Shetty.
