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In a jolt to the Congress, senior leader PC Chacko resigned from the party on Wednesday, 10 March.
“I have quit Congress and sent my resignation to party's interim chief Sonia Gandhi,” he said, reported news agency ANI.
Addressing the media, Chacko said that he had been deliberating on the decision for a while.
“I had been deliberating upon this decision for past many days. I come from Kerala where there is no Congress party as such. There are two parties - Congress (I) & Congress (A). It is a coordination committee of two parties functioning as KPCC,” he said, added ANI.
Congress leaders including Anand Sharma said that the ones who want to leave the party will leave it eventually.
Congress MP Hibi Eden said that Chacko was a valuable asset to the Congress and was given opportunities by the central leadership.
“He (PC Chacko) is a very senior Congress leader who has been given ample opportunities by the Central leadership. He is a valuable asset for the Congress. I don't think it was a wise decision at this crucial juncture where Congress is going into an important election,” Eden told ANI.
Meanwhile, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, who himself is facing a no-confidence motion, said that mistrust was rampant in the Congress which can be seen by Chacko’s resignation.
Beginning his political career in the Kerala Students Union, Chacko was once the Indian Youth Congress state president. He was first elected to Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Piravam constituency in 1980 and was appointed as the Minister for Industries in EK Nayanar’s Cabinet.
Chacko was a Member of Parliament from the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat between 2009-2014.
He was also the chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the alleged scam in the grant of 2G spectrum and telecom license from 1998 to 2009.
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