New Delhi: Congress leader Vinay Pradhan, who was suspended as the party's Meerut District President for describing Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi as "Pappu" in a WhatsApp message, on Wednesday said he, along with other aggrieved Congress members, will soon launch a campaign to make India "Pappu-mukt" (free of Pappu).
Mr Pradhan, who claimed to have given 22 years of his life to the Congress party, resigned from the Congress on Wednesday while holding Rahul Gandhi and his "coterie of sycophants" responsible for the Congress party's decline.
"Rahul Gandhi and the sycophants around him are already making some parties' dream to make a 'Congress-free' India a reality. The person who cannot understand his praise is really a 'Pappu' (young boy) and I have no qualms in calling him that," Mr Pradhan said here at a press conference.
He said that there were others like him who were sad at the decline of the Congress due to the total disconnect of the top leadership from the ground realities and they were also coming with him for the Pappu-free India campaign.
Mr Pradhan did not elaborate how he plans to achieve his objective, or whether he will join some other political party.
"I was removed from all party posts without even hearing my side of the story. This is like following Pakistan's anti-blasphemy law. The party is being run by a small group of sycophants who surround Rahul Gandhi," he said.
Mr Pradhan landed himself in trouble on June 14 when he sent a message in defence of Rahul Gandhi wherein he listed how Mr Gandhi has been fighting for the cause of the poor and farmers, and why the RSS projected him as "Pappu".
But the message ruffled the wrong feathers in the party and Mr Pradhan was immediately suspended.
Mr Pradhan, who claimed to have given 22 years of his life to the Congress party, resigned from the Congress on Wednesday while holding Rahul Gandhi and his "coterie of sycophants" responsible for the Congress party's decline.
He said that there were others like him who were sad at the decline of the Congress due to the total disconnect of the top leadership from the ground realities and they were also coming with him for the Pappu-free India campaign.
Advertisement
"I was removed from all party posts without even hearing my side of the story. This is like following Pakistan's anti-blasphemy law. The party is being run by a small group of sycophants who surround Rahul Gandhi," he said.
Advertisement
But the message ruffled the wrong feathers in the party and Mr Pradhan was immediately suspended.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"Freedom Is Our Shield": Rahul Gandhi's Independence Day Message To Nation "Attempt To Save Accused Instead Of...": Rahul Gandhi On Doctor Rape-Murder BJP Slams Rahul Gandhi For "Seeding Doubt" About Indian Stock Markets 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing "Pivotal Moment": Key Doctor Body Resumes Strike 2 Days After Calling It Off Ayatollah Khamenei Warns Of "Divine Wrath" If Iran Backs Down Against Israel "Pivotal Moment": Key Doctor Body Resumes Strike 2 Days After Calling It Off Navalny's Wife Rejects Finding He Died From "Combination Of Illnesses" After Night Of Vandalism, Forensic Team Reaches Kolkata Hospital: 10 Points Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.