New Delhi: In a big blow to Congress, former Gujarat party president and Porbandar MLA Arjun Modhwadia joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday, March 5, a day after he resigned from the grand old party. 

While resigning from the Congress party, Modhwadia cited his dissatisfaction over senior parties turning down the invitation of Ram Mandir inauguration event in Ayodhya as a reason behind his resignation. 

"By declining the invitation to witness the pran pratishtha mahotsav [Congress] has hurt the sentiments of the people of India," he said.

Many Congress employees, according to Modhwadia, were "offended" that the party was "insulting Lord Ram" by choosing not to attend the consecration event on January 22, 2024.

Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, the former Congress president "attempted to create ruckus in Assam" during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on the day of event. 

For the previous forty years, Modhwadia—who was also a leader of the opposition in Gujarat—had been connected to the Congress party.