In the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress family is facing major issues with their leaders leaving the party and joining others. In the list of abandoners, another crucial name has now been added, Tom Vadakkan. Congress leader and close ally of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Tom Vadakkan joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday in the presence of the Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. With several Congress leaders joining the BJP just days before the country goes to the Lok Sabha polls, it is quite evident, as the opinion polls had predicted, that the BJP is likely to retain power at the Centre.
Delhi: Congress leader Tom Vadakkan joins Bharatiya Janata Party in presence of Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. pic.twitter.com/7AtbF2QfHj
— ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2019
After joining BJP, he stated, “It gives me great pleasure to join BJP. It hurts me deeply when you question the integrity of Armed Forces. The reason I left Congress was that I did not like their reaction on Pulwama attack.”
This decision of the former Congress leader to join BJP, no doubt, has shocked the grand old party to the core. Tom Vadakkan had been more than a just a Congress leader. He had always been a staunch supporter of Sonia Gandhi and in fact, was the very person chosen by Sonia Gandhi to send out the message of her willingness to enter active politics. He had been summoned by Sonia’s office to carry a letter containing “an important message” to the party chief Sitaram Kesri. He stated, “In the letter, Soniaji had expressed her willingness to campaign for the party, which was an indication that she would be finally stepping into active politics”. He had been with Congress through thick and thin, witnessing the power shift in 1998 and the Congress family members come to power through generations along with all the corruption scandals.
Being a close confidant, Tom is aware of all the lies and corruption scandals that the family including the ones Rahul Gandhi has been involved in. The most recent one involves Robert Vadra, his brother in law. Vadra is accused in a case involving corrupt land deals. The National Herald case involving the mother-son duo is also being dealt with by the High Court in a penalizing manner.
Tom Vadakkan had been viewed as nothing short of a savior by the family. He was Sonia Gandhi’s close aide and trusted advisor for a very long time. In fact, he was the one who was called upon to enforce sensor rules on anything that depicted the Nehru-Gandhi family in bad light. Back in 2010, when Prakash Jha’s film Rajneeti was being released, there was a lot of speculation centering Katrina Kaif’s character, with people believing it to be loosely modeled on Sonia Gandhi. Even though the cast and makers of the film refuted the allegations, Vadakkam was called upon by the family to deal with the matter and was successful in censoring several parts of the film.
Tom Vadakkan’s entry could spell more trouble for the family. With the elections right around the corner, Congress cannot afford crucial leaders and more importantly, secret keepers of the family to be switching sides and going over to the main opponent. But Vadakkam didn’t have a choice. His loyalty to the country and the armed forces was a lot greater than his loyalty towards the Congress family. With Vadakkam jumping ship, the secrets of the Nehru-Gandhi family might just come spilling out in the next crucial month.
