'Illogical And Baseless': Ashok Chavan On Rahul Gandhi's 'Weeping Senior Leader Who Quit' Remark

New Delhi: Dismissing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's claim that he met Sonia Gandhi before leaving the grand old party, BJP Rajya Sabha member Ashok Chavan said, "I never met Sonia Gandhi. It is baseless (to say) that I met Sonia Gandhi and expressed my emotions. It is a political statement from the election point of view." Earlier last month Chavan had quit the Congress to join BJP, which nominated him for the Rajya Sabha poll from Maharashtra. Chavan was later declared elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed.

What Rahul Gandhi Claimed?  

Addressing a rally in Mumbai on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not "fight this power any more and didn’t want to go to jail”.  In 2010, Chavan stepped down as chief minister following allegations of involvement in the Adarsh housing scam in Mumbai. He was also state Congress chief during 2014-19.

How Chavan Reacted

Reacting to it, Chavan in a video message on Monday said Rahul Gandhi made the statement in a rally on Sunday and did not take anybody's name. "But if he is saying that about me, then it is illogical and baseless. The truth is that till I resigned from the Congress, I was working at the party headquarters. I resigned from the post of MLA and a few moments later resigned from the party also. Till then, no one knew that I had resigned," the former state chief minister said.

"I never met Sonia Gandhi. It is baseless (to say) that I met Sonia Gandhi and expressed my emotions. It is a political statement from the election point of view," Chavan said.