(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Jayanthi Natarajan lashes out at Rahul Gandhi in explosive letter Chennai: Former union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan announced her resignation from the Congress party after 30 years of being a member. “Due to the suffocating atmosphere within the Congress party I announce my resignation from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) as well as the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee trustee” said Natarajan.
“I will send a letter soon to the Congress national president Sonia Gandhi and to the state Congress president EVKS Elangovan.”
Natarajan’s sudden resignation comes on the back of a letter written by her to the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in November 2014.
In the letter she speaks of the “glorious legacy” of her family and her good name being maligned and destroyed and points fingers directly at Congress scion and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
“I received instructions from the office of Rahul Gandhi forwarding requests from NGOs on certain big projects where I was instructed to prevent environmental degradation at all costs. So I stopped some projects following investigations” she said. On the 20th of December 2013 Natarajan says that she was summoned by then prime minister Manmohan Singh.
“He looked very tense and grim. He said you are required for party work. Madam (Sonia Gandhi) has asked you to resign” she said.
Natarajan said that the day after she resigned she was shocked and deeply hurt when Rahul Gandhi in an address to a meeting of business heads in Delhi said that environmental clearances will henceforth take place smoothly.
She also alleged that some “friends in the media” had informed her that they had received calls from Rahul Gandhi’s office following her resignation stating that she had in fact not resigned but rather been removed.
The timing of the “revelations” has been questioned by Congress leaders who point out that Natarajan’s statements come at a time when the CBI is probing projects cleared by her. A senior Congress leader who did not wish to be named told Khaleej Times that it is a minister’s job to deal with pressures from corporates and environmental activists. “A minister is supposed to listen to both sides and take a decision in the interests of the country” said the Congress senior.
“There is nothing wrong with Rahul sending requests or for company heads to make requests to her. The decision has to be hers the responsibility is hers” he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to take advantage of the situation with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying that the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime followed “sadistic economic policies”. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar promised a review of all project clearances made by the UPA government. Natarajan’s exit from the Congress is not likely to make much of a dent in the grand old party. Natarajan herself has never fought an election and has been member of parliament and minister through the Rajya Sabha route.
Natarajan does not have a vote base and has never cultivated a constituency preferring instead to wrangle top positions through proximity to the Congress leadership.
Natarajan’s great grandfather Bhaktavatsalam was a Congressman and served as the chief minister of Madras state (what is now Tamil Nadu) from 1963 to 1967. Many members of her family are dyed in the wool Congressmen and she too followed in their footsteps and joined the Congress 30 years ago.
Natarajan told the Press that she did not plan to join any other party and would spend some time in reflection and thinking of what she would do next.
— newskhaleejtimes.com
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