'Tremendous arrogance' in Congress leadership: ex-MP 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 in Mumbai, Nirupam further claimed the Congress is history and has no future and that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is a merger of three "sick units".

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

"There is tremendous arrogance in the Congress leadership," Nirupam alleged.

The former Mumbai Congress chief also claimed that those wanting to write his political obituary will feel ground beneath them sinking after June 4, the day of counting of votes for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

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

Nirupam, who was eyeing the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, was miffed with the party for allowing the Shiv Sena (UBT) to take the seat for the upcoming 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 on Thursday 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.

"The Nehruvian secularism, which opposed religion and is under the Leftist influence, has expired," Nirupam claimed.