Kushboo Sundar's letter to Sonia quitting Congress OUT; hammers party's 'higher level'

Actor-turned-politician Kushboo Sundar has resigned from Congress and is all set to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday. She tendered her resignation in a letter addressed to INC president Sonia Gandhi and extended 'gratitude' towards Rahul Gandhi. She cited suppression from politicians seated at higher levels within the party as the reason for quitting and called them "people who have no connectivity with the ground reality" or had "public recognition".

All India Congress Committee also issued a statement earlier on Monday and announced the removal of Sundar from her post "with immediate effect". There had been rumours of the actor's impending resignation from Congress which she laid to rest in her concluding letter which she claimed having written after "a long thorough thought process over a period of time".

She wrote, “I came into the fold of Congress at the time when it was at its lowest, being defeated in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. I did not walk in the party for any monetary gains, name or fame. Few elements seated at higher levels within the party, people who have no connectivity with the ground reality or public recognition are dictating terms and people like me who wanted to work for the party sincerely, are being pushed and suppressed.”

Read | Kushboo's exit: Zero impact on the ground in TN, says Congress

With her set to join the BJP, AICC in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Dinesh Gundu Rao hit out at her lack of ideological commitment in his interaction with PTI on Monday. He said that it is unfortunate that Sundar is taking the step and added that her quitting the organisation would have "no impact on Tamil Nadu politics".

Read | 'They go where they get votes': BJP lambasts Congress on no visit to Karauli priest's kin

Kushboo could be joining the BJP for "some other reasons, not just politics", he said, adding, media may play up the issue for a couple of days since she is an actor and the matter would then die down. "It will have no impact, zero impact", he said. The BJP would not gain by her entry as there is a "big anti-BJP feeling" in Tamil Nadu, Rao alleged.

Read | Congress levels corruption allegations against Yediyurappa Govt; demands CM's resignation

Read | Cong spokesperson Kushboo quits party, says she was 'suppressed'