Congress national spokesperson Kushboo Sundar on Monday tendered her resignation from the party and joined BJP in the presence of Tamil Nadu State BJP President L. Murugan and BJP National General Secretary C.T. Ravi.
Following this, Pranav Jha, AICC secretary in-charge of Communications announced the dropping of Ms. Kushboo as spokesperson of the party with immediate effect.
“Kushboo Sundar is hereby dropped as AICC spokesperson with immediate effect,” said a statement from AICC secretary in-charge of communications Pranav Jha.
In a letter to party President Sonia Gandhi, Ms. Kushboo said, “I came into the fold of INC at the time when it was at its lowest, being defeated in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. I did not walk in the party for any monetary gains, name or fame. Few elements seated at higher levels within the party, people who have no connectivity with the ground reality or public recognition are dictating terms and people like me who wanted to work for the party sincerely, are being pushed and suppressed.” She also extended her thanks to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Ms. Kushboo left for Delhi on Sunday night. At the airport, she told the media that she wouldn’t like to comment on the rumours.
Ms. Kushboo, who previously denied the speculations that she was joining the BJP, said on Sunday that change was inevitable. “Many see a change in me. Well as you age, you evolve n grow, learn n unlearn, perceptions change, likes n dislikes too, thoughts n ideas take a new shape, dreams are new, you understand the difference between like n love, between right n wrong. Change is inevitable,” she said in a tweet.
Last week, Ms. Kushboo told The Hindu that she was not going anywhere away from the Congress and that rumours of her joining the BJP had been doing the rounds since 2014.
Even last week, Ms. Kushboo slammed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the alleged gang rape in Hathras. She has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre.
Ms. Kushboo started her political career in the DMK in 2010 and later joined the Congress in 2014.