New Delhi: On Thursday, in a major embarrassment for the Congress, senior party leader Tom Vadakkan, who was considered a close aide of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, quit the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a press conference, Vadakkan said that he was upset that the Congress had “questioned the integrity of security forces” and said that he was “hurt by the anti-national stand of the Congress.”

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It is to be noted that Vadakkan, who had been with the Congress for nearly 20 years, joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the national capital today. Speaking at the press conference, the former Congress leader said, "I left Congress party because when Pakistani terrorists attacked our land, my party's reaction to it was sad, it hurt me deeply. If a political party takes such a position that is against the country then I'm left with no option but to leave the party."

However, Vadakkan also attacked Congress over "dynasty politics" and said that the Rahul Gandhi-led party had a "culture of use and throw." He added, "I gave my prime of life to the Congress. But dynastic politics is now at its zenith in the party... There's no place in it for self-respecting people."  He later met BJP chief Amit Shah as well.

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 To be noted that just a month away from the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Congress is facing defections of its MLAs and leaders from several states, who are jumping ship and joining the BJP or other rival parties. In Telangana 4 Congress leaders quit, while defections of a few party leaders were also reported from Gujarat. In Maharashtra, state Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's son, Sujay Vikhe Patil joined the Congress, while two senior Congress also joined the saffron party in Assam on Wednesday.