Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh quits ‘directionless’ party

Professor Gourav Vallabh, a Congress spokesperson who represented it on TV debates on finance and economy-related issues, resigned from the party’s primary membership on Thursday.

Calling the grand old party ‘directionless,’ Vallabh, in a letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, cited reasons such as caste census behind his decision to exit, adding that he cannot raise ‘anti-Sanatana’ slogans.’

“I feel uncomfortable given how the party has become directionless today. I cannot raise ‘anti-Sanatana’ slogans and abuse the nation’s wealth creators. Therefore, I am resigning from all party posts and its primary membership,” his resignation letter said.

He added: “I joined the Congress with an aim to use my knowledge in finance, for the welfare of the country. Yes, we are not in power today, but we could have presented our manifesto, and our policies, in a better way. However, this was done at any level of the party.’

Vallabh, who was fielded by the Congress in last year’s Rajasthan assembly elections and the 2019 Jharkhand assembly polls, further stated that a message was going out that the party only works for a ‘particular religion.’

“We are moving in a wrong direction. On the one hand, we talk about caste census, and on the other, it appears that we are completely opposed to the Hindu society. This is sending a wrong message that we are biased towards a specific community. Also, this is against basic principles of the Congress,” the Chartered Accountant, who holds a PhD as well, stated.

Vallabh also wrote that over the past few years, the party has failed to ‘realise’ expectations of ‘New India.’

“We have lost our ground-level connect, and therefore, did not realise what ‘New India’ expects from us. Because of this, we have failed repeatedly in coming to power or to become an effective opposition. This demotivates workers like me. No positive change is possible if a worker cannot reach his leader directly,” he said, also saying that the leadership’s decision to skip the Ram Temple ceremony, ‘shocked’ and ‘upset’ him.