New Delhi: Giving a shocker in the run-up to the general elections, the BJP on Thursday could bring in Tom Vadakkan, a former close aide of Sonia Gandhi, into their fold. "It gives me a great pleasure coming here.....The reason why I left Congress is with a heavy heart. Because the attack by Pakistani terrorists on our land and the reaction from Congress was sad indeed. It hurt me deeply," Mr Vadakkan told reporters in presence of Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
"When you question the integrity of the armed forces, I am deeply hurt and that''s precisely the reason I am here," he said. Mr Vadakkan, who is a Roman Catholic, said the matter is not about ideology alone - "yeh desh prem ki baat hai....(This is a matter of one''s love and dedication for the country)". "If a political party takes a stand which is against the country....then I was left with no other alternative than to quit such a party," said Mr Vadakkan, who was once political secretary of Sonia Gandhi.
Apparently, Mr Vadakkan was unhappy lately after he was sidelined. He also lashed out at the ''dynastic'' politics being pursued in Congress. Welcoming him to the BJP, Union Law Minister Mr Prasad said "Mr Vadakkan is a senior Congress leader and comes from Roman Catholic family in Thrissur. He has decided to join the BJP after getting impressed by the policies and programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and equally getting disenchanted by the Congress party".
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