Reports said Jyotiraditya Scindia was trying to meet Rahul Gandhi for months (File)
Highlights
- Jyotiraditya Scindia joined BJP today after 18 years in Congress
- Reports say he had been trying to meet the Gandhis for months
- Rahul Gandhi retweeted a photo with Kamal Nath and Mr Scindia
Rahul Gandhi, on reports that Jyotiraditya Scindia tried to meet him but was denied an appointment, said today that he was the only leader in the Congress who could meet him any time.
"He is the only chap in Congress who could walk into my house anytime," Rahul Gandhi was quoted as telling news agency ANI.
The Congress MP also retweeted his own post from a year ago, when he had brokered peace between Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia in the fight for Madhya Pradesh chief ministership.
He had captioned the photo, showing him linking arms with the feuding leaders, using a Leo Tolstoy quote: "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."
Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP today after 18 years in the Congress. He said the Congress was no longer the party it used to be, that it was living in denial.
Among the reports that have been circulating on the shock political switch is that the Gandhis refused to meet Mr Scindia or reach out to him.
"I know for a fact Jyotiraditya Scindia was trying to meet Rahul Gandhi for months, no appointment was given," Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, former Tripura royal and a cousin of Mr Scindia, told NDTV on Tuesday. In a Facebook post, Mr Debbarma, who is known to be close to Mr Scindia, had said: "I spoke to him late night and he told me that he waited and waited but there were no upcoming appointments given to him by 'our' leader".
Rahul Gandhi was reacting to these reports when he made the comment.
Mr Scindia was in the inner circle of the former Congress president and was usually seen by his side in parliament.
Not just Rahul Gandhi, but Mr Scindia was also believed to be close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - who shared with him the responsibility of leading the Congress's national campaign in Uttar Pradesh last year.