Nation more important than politics, says Kripashankar Singh

In 1977, Kripashankar Singh, who had arrived in the city from his native Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, organised a rasta roko at the Kherwadi junction after the erstwhile Janata Party government arrested former premier Indira Gandhi. This marked the entry of Singh, then in his late 20s, and a first-generation migrant to Mumbai, into politics.

Now Singh, who rose from being a vegetable vendor and factory worker to a former minister of state for home, and the ex-president of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC), has cited Indira Gandhi and her aggressive position vis-a-vis Pakistan, to criticise the Congress for going soft on nationalism and placing politics over national interest. Singh, who quit the Congress on Tuesday, said his pleas to former party president Rahul Gandhi seeking a course correction for India's grand old party, had fallen on deaf ears.

"This was a decision I did not want to take. I am reminded of Indiraji again. When India went to war with Pakistan in 1971, it was (BJP stalwart and former prime minister late) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who supported her and even lauded her as Goddess Durga. The nation is more important than politics… when it comes to nationalism and patriotism, people are willing to keep all existential issues aside to support the country" said Singh, while speaking to DNA.

He questioned why the Congress had questioned the Balakot airstrikes in February after the Pulwama terror attacks, instead of standing by the Narendra Modi-led regime over the issue of national interest. "However, our leaders asked for proof of the strikes," said Singh, adding that the government's decision to scrap Article 370, which conferred special status on Jammu and Kashmir, had struck a chord in the people.

Singh charged that the stance on the issue by Congress leaders like a leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, would hurt the party in the polls. "It is an example of where we had gone. Indira and Rajiv Gandhi had laid down their lives for the nation. They were not assassinated for the property, but for keeping the nation intact… we must have followed their example, welcomed the scrapping of Article 370 (instead of opposing it) and called for Kashmiris to be integrated into the mainstream," he claimed, adding his letters to Rahul had not yielded ay response.

Singh admitted he was miffed at the internal politics in the city unit of the Congress. Singh was said to be at loggerheads with a faction led by former Mumbai chief Sanjay Nirupam. "I will decide on the next course of action in a couple of days," he said when asked about whether his next port of call would be the BJP or Shiv Sena.

In 2014, Singh was defeated from his Kalina constituency by Sanjay Potnis of the Shiv Sena.

Claiming that the decision to quit the party had caused him great mental anguish, Singh denied his decision was linked to him being embroiled in controversies like those about disproportionate assets. Singh added he had been discharged by the courts in the case.