Congress alleges PM Modi orchestrated Deora's resignation

“He (Deora) said he is concerned that it is a sitting Shiv Sena seat, he wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi and explain to him about the seat and also wanted me to talk to Mr Gandhi about it,” the Congress general secretary said.

“All this was a farce and he had made up his mind to leave. The timing of the announcement of his departure was clearly determined by the PM,” Ramesh alleged.

In a post on X, Ramesh recalled his long years of association with seven-time Congress MP Murli Deora with great fondness.

“He (Murli Deora) had close friends in all political parties, but was a stalwart Congressman who ALWAYS stood by the Congress party — through thick and thin. Tathastu!” he said.

Former Union minister Milind Deora on Sunday said he had resigned from the primary membership of the party.

In a post on social media platform X, the former South Mumbai Lok Sabha MP said, ”Today marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in my political journey. I have tendered my resignation from the primary membership of the Congress, ending my family’s 55-year relationship with the party. I am grateful to all leaders, colleagues and karyakartas for their unwavering support over the years.”

Deora, who was recently appointed the joint treasurer of the All India Congress Committee, had expressed disapproval at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) laying claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat.

Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad on Sunday said it was unfortunate that Deora had quit the party on the day when the Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' commences from strife-torn Manipur. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole called it a ploy by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divert attention from the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' and mocked Deora as a "twice defeated candidate".

Former chief minister Ashok Chavan said Deora wanted to contest from South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat. In a video statement, Gaikwad urged the former South Mumbai Lok Sabha MP to reconsider his decision saying his family and the Congress family were one.

"It is unfortunate Deora chose to quit on a day when the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra starts from Manipur. I urge him to reconsider his decision. The Congress has always stood by him," she said. "The Congress party and I are extremely sad at the development. The AICC in charge and I tried to hold a dialogue with Milind Deora (to impress upon him) that we are family and have to be together," said Gaikwad, an MLA from Mumbai's Dharavi area.