New Delhi: Former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar, who quit the Congress in the middle of state elections, fired several truth bombs at the party leadership, especially over its handling of infighting in Punjab.
"The kind of leadership being projected in Punjab is probably the worst in the last 40 years," Ashwani Kumar told NDTV, without naming either Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi or Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu.
Mr Channi took over as Punjab Chief Minister after Amarinder Singh, who had been locked in an unending feud with Navjot Sidhu, was forced to resign in September. Mr Singh, who has a tie-up with the BJP for the Punjab election, had complained to Sonia Gandhi about being "humiliated thrice".
Shortly after the "Captain" quit, the Congress picked Mr Channi, who was pitched as an important Dalit leader.
"It is impossible for me to accept that caste can become the basis of the choice of Chief Minister in the Congress. Mahatma Gandhi fought casteism all his life," Ashwani Kumar said.
Noting what he called a "narrowness of approach unbecoming of the Congress", Dr Kumar said: "If you wanted Amarinder Singh to go you could have talked to him, you could have asked him. The manner in which Amarinder Singh was humiliated into resigning has not left a good impression of the Congress, not only in Punjab but also the rest of the country."
He added: "I was never in the inner circle of Amarinder Singh. But I resent and condemn the way he was humiliated into resigning."
Dr Kumar also denied that his exit was precipitated by the fact that he was not included among the Congress star campaigners for Punjab.
"Who are the star campaigners? Apart from Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, do you see anyone else?" he grinned.