Barkha Shukla Singh, who was expelled by the Congress for criticising Rahul Gandhi and his leadership skills, has joined the BJP. The former head of the Delhi Commission for Women and Delhi Congress women's wing chief had called for a "Rahul Gandhi-mukt Congress" ("Rahul-free-Congress").
The move comes on the eve of the crucial MCD elections and days after former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely joined the BJP. Barkha Shukla Singh's joining the BJP will further weaken the Congress and hurt its prospects of gaining some ground in the MCD polls.
Statement of dissent
Barkha Singh, on Thursday, April 20, had taken to Twitter to raise a few questions about the manner in which Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi — who is primed to take over as president soon — was running the party. "The one pertinent question we need to ask today is that why is Rahul Gandhi hiding? Why is he scared of meeting his own party members?" she asked in a written statement.
"Senior-most leaders of the party — I would not like to name anybody — are also of the view that Rahul Gandhi is mentally unfit to lead the party, but choose not to say it because of reasons unknown to it," she added after describing herself a "loyal soldier of the Congress party."
Press Statement pic.twitter.com/qKOh9TnGN6
— Barkha Shukla Singh (@barkhasingh45) April 20, 2017
'Anti-party activities'
Singh was then removed from the Congress — formally "suspended for six years" — for her "anti-party activities." She took to Twitter to say that her ouster was "illegal" and that the Congress had not even held internal elections to appoint office-bearers. She also said she would file a complaint against the Congress with the Election Commission in this regard.
