'Scindia left Congress despite getting so much from it, his credibility dented': Digvijaya

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh on Sunday hit out at former party member and BJP leader Jyoritaditya Scindia saying that he left the Congress even as the party had given him "so much". Digvijaya added that leaving Congress was not expected from Scindia and his move has dented the credibility in politics.

'...still, he left the party'

Digvijaya's criticism of Scindia came on the day the ruling BJP claimed that as many as 35,843 Congress cadres joined the ruling party in the last two days of its three-day membership drive underway in Gwalior. However, the Rajya Sabha MP said that Congress has grown much stronger in the Gwalior-Chambal region after Scindia quit the party. 

The Congress, which had held a protest against the BJP's membership drive when it was launched on Saturday, organised a 'dharna' at the Rani Lakshmi Bai memorial in Gwalior on Sunday.

After taking part in the protest, Digvijaya Singh said, "The Congress has given so much to Scindia, still he left the party. It was not expected of him. This has dented the credibility in politics." "The massive protest of thousands of Congress cadres on Saturday against the BJP's big membership drive on its opening day, speaks of the fact that the party has grown stronger after Scindia's exit," he added.

'35,843 Congress members joined the BJP'

MP Energy Minister Pradhyuman Singh Tomar had said, "As many as 35,843 Congress leaders and workers joined the BJP in two days in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and RS member Jyotiraditya Scindia."

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Congress media in-charge for Gwalior-Chambal region KK Mishra said that his party held the protest as the ruling BJP violated the COVID-19 protocols. "The BJP function in Gwalior is being held in violation of the lockdown rules imposed in the state to curb the spread of coronavirus," he added.

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Twenty-two Congress MLAs, mostly from the Scindia camp, resigned in March, reducing the Kamal Nath-led dispensation to a minority and paving the way for the BJP to form the government. Scindia and these former MLAs then joined the BJP. Last month, three more Congress MLAs resigned and joined the saffron party. Two other assembly seats have fallen vacant due to the death of legislators.

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(With agency inputs)