'Tremendous arrogance' in Cong leadership; Nehruvian secularism has expired: Sanjay Nirupam

Mumbai: A day after being expelled from the Congress, former MP Sanjay Nirupam hit out at the grand old party on Thursday and claimed there is "tremendous arrogance" in the party leadership.

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Addressing a press conference here, Nirupam further claimed the Congress is now history and has no future and that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is a merger of three "sick units".

There are five power centres in the Congress -- the three Gandhi family members, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and (party general secretary) K C Venugopal, Nirupam said.

"The Nehruvian secularism which has no place for religion in the society has expired," he claimed.

The opposition MVA comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

Taking note of complaints of indiscipline and anti-party statements, Kharge late Wednesday evening approved Nirupam's expulsion from the party for six years with immediate effect.

Nirupam said his criticism of the Congress for allowing the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) to walk away with a major chunk of seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections cannot be termed as an "anti-party" activity.

The former MP from Mumbai North alleged the action against him was taken at the behest of the Shiv Sena (UBT).

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been surrounded by people who have no connect with the grassroots, he further claimed.

"The party leadership has become outdated and scrap," he charged.

The Congress has now rusted but there is "tremendous arrogance in the party leadership," Nirupam claimed as he targeted Maharashtra party president Nana Patole and Venugopal.

"India is a religious country. But the Congress termed the 'pran pratishtha' of Lord Ram (idol of Ram Lalla at a temple) in Ayodhya as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) event, thereby denying the existence of Lord Ram," he said.

Nirupam declined to spell out his future course of action, but said he will contest the Lok Sabha poll and win.

To a question on whether he will contest as an independent, he replied in negative.

The former Mumbai Congress chief also claimed there was "ideological confusion" in the party.

Nirupam, who was eyeing the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, has been miffed with the Congress for allowing the Shiv Sena (UBT) to take the seat for the parliamentary polls.

The demand for action against Nirupam grew after he castigated the Maharashtra Congress leadership for "ceding" constituencies in Mumbai to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party during seat-sharing talks of the MVA for the Lok Sabha elections.

Nirupam said what he spoke in the public was not against the Congress, but he was asking the party not to surrender to the Shiv Sena (UBT).

"Secularism doesn't mean disregarding one's own religion," he said.

If a party acts against its own leaders at the behest of others, what remains of it? he said.

"The Congress is now history and has no future," he claimed.

Nirupam said those who want to write his political obituary will feel the ground beneath them sinking after June 4, the day of counting of votes for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.