BackGurudas Kamat withdraws resignation from Congress
Kamat says he changed his decision after a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and will now continue as the party's general secretary
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New Delhi: In a volte-face, former Congress general secretary Gurudas Kamat has withdrawn his resignation from the party, tendered nearly two weeks ago.
Kamat had resigned earlier this month over his reported unhappiness with the functioning of the local party unit in Mumbai but said he had decided to quit politics owing to personal reasons.
In a press release on Thursday, Kamat said he had resigned from the party because he wanted to do “social service minus any party tag" but his decision changed after a meeting with party president Sonia Gandhi. He will now continue as the party’s general secretary.
“During the last fortnight a large number of senior party leaders tried to convince me to rethink the decision. My meeting with my party president Smt. Sonia Gandhi helped me to make up my mind that the Congress party is the best platform to serve the people of this country,’’ he said in the release shared by party leaders.
He added that he was informed by the party leadership on Wednesday night that he would continue to hold charge as earlier of the states and Union territories assigned to him.
“I will continue to serve under the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi with the same charge of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu as informed to me late last night. I will be meeting the people of my in-charge states starting tomorrow Friday, June 24 2016, onwards," he said.
Kamat has been associated with the Congress party since the 1970s and has been a strong regional leader from Maharashtra. Party leaders said he has been unhappy with the factionalism in the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC). A five-time member of the Lok Sabha, a former Union minister and a strong organizational man, Kamat’s resignation was seen as one of the senior-most exits from the party.
During the second United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre, Kamat had turned down the portfolio of minister of state for drinking water and sanitation in 2012, implying that it was not meaty enough for someone of his political experience. He had then faced criticism for the move.
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