NEW DELHI: Former JNU students’ union president
Kanhaiya Kumar left CPI to join
Congress on Monday, while independent Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani said he will fight the next Gujarat assembly polls on the Congress symbol.
In a press conference, organisation general secretary KC Venugopal said the arrival of the two youth leaders in Congress would enthuse the youth and party cadres and strengthen its fight against BJP.
Kumar joined the party in the presence of
Rahul Gandhi and said he was joining the “oldest and most democratic party” in India to fight against forces that were attacking the idea of India and to strengthen the movement to “save” the country.
Mevani said he was not joining the party due to “technical reasons”, but pledged his support to Congress ahead of the Gujarat assembly polls. “I’m an independent MLA and if I join the party, I can’t continue as an MLA…I’m part of Congress ideologically, and will fight the upcoming Gujarat polls on Congress symbol.”
Just before joining the party, the two also accompanied
Rahul to the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park to celebrate the birth anniversary of the freedom fighter.
Kanhaiya Kumar said that he was gearing up for shouldering a historic responsibility to keep the “big ship” afloat so that the small ships could also be saved.