Good riddance, says Congress on Ajit Jogi’s exit

The Congress on Tuesday claimed that former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi quit the party because he was denied a Rajya Sabha nomination from the state.

Terming Jogi’s exit “good riddance,” the party also dubbed him as the “de facto chief minister of Chhattisgarh” who has “consistently sabotaged the Congress’ prospects to help” BJP’s Raman Singh retain power since 2003.

“He has saved us the trouble of expelling him,” Congress general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh BK Hariprasad told reporters. “It is a good riddance.”

Read:Ajit Jogi no longer CWC member after forming new party: Congress

Hariprasad also announced that Jogi ceased to be a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and the chairman of party’s tribal cell after his move to float a new political outfit.

The Congress suffered major setback on Monday after two of its senior leaders and CWC members quit the party, days after it faced a rout in assembly elections in four states.

Hariprasad dismissed suggestions that Jogi’s exit will harm the party ahead of the next elections. “A man who was elevated from a district magistrate to a chief minister by Congress cannot undermine the party,” he said.

‘”Congress is not that weak in Chhattisgarh. Despite Jogi’s negative performance, the party lost the last elections by just 0.77% vote.”

He also accused Jog of resorting to “politicking of a very negative kind” despite the party having given him “a very long rope to reform”.

Hariprasad maintained that the party would not take any action against the legislators, including his wife Renu Jogi, who had participated in Jogi’s meeting on Monday.

The Congress leader said he would be visiting Chhattisgarh within a week to talk to state party leaders in the wake of Jogi’s exit from the party. “History is witness to the fact that many may have quit Congress but they have not been able to finish us,” he said.

Read:Only a surname is leader in Congress, rest have no value: BJP’s Ram Madhav