Speculations over Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam joining the Bharatiya Janata Party gained further momentum on Tuesday after he remarked that joining the saffron party was not a crime.
On being asked about the possibilities of him joining the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections, Krishnam said: “Joining BJP is not a crime. Politics is a game of possibilities. Right now I have neither left nor joined anything.”
Krishnam made the above comments while talking to mediapersons here on Tuesday afternoon.
When asked from which Lok Sabha seat he is preparing, Krishnam said: “Right now I am preparing for the foundation stone laying ceremony of Kalki Dham. Neither did anyone ask me to join BJP nor did I go to anyone for this.”
On the question of expulsion from Congress, Krishnam said they could punish him but he had not received any notice as yet.
Krishnam, who met the UP CM, said: “Today I met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and invited him for the foundation stone laying ceremony of Shri Kalki Dham. We are confident that he will come there.”
On the question of inviting the Gandhi family, Krishnam said everyone would be invited. Regarding the meeting with CM Yogi, Krishnam said there was no discussion other than Shri Kalki Dham.
“If going to the ‘Pran Pratistha’ was a crime, I am ready to face the punishment for this. If meeting PM Modi and CM Yogi is a crime, I will keep doing it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Krishnam, who has twice contested on a Congress ticket, also slammed his own party on diversions in the INDIA bloc. The Congress leader said that there was no such thing as ‘INDIA’ as Nitish Kumar had performed its last rites in Patna.
He remarked that the INDIA bloc contracted diseases right after its birth and it landed in the ICU and was put on life support. Nitish Kumar going back into the NDA fold was the last nail in the coffin, he added.
The Congress leader’s remarks came after JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar snapped ties with RJD and took oath as Bihar Chief Minister again with the support of the BJP.
Notably, a year after 26 parties joined hands as part of the INDIA bloc with a common aim to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, cracks became more evident with its members refusing to compromise on seats in states where they are in power or are the main opposition.
Earlier this month, Krishnam had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited him to the foundation stone laying ceremony of Shri Kalki Dham in Sambhal on February 19.
Krishnam has been critical of some decisions taken by the Congress leadership, including that of not attending the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22.