Priyanka Chaturvedi Joins Shiv Sena, Says Congress Hurt Her by Reinstating Men Who Harassed Her

New Delhi: Priyanka Chaturvedi has quit the Congress and joined the Shiv Sena, a day after she went public with her resentment against the Congress high command for reinstating members who had harassed her during a visit to Mathura a few months ago.

At a press conference with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Chaturvedi said she was hurt and let down by the Congress decision, and refuted reports that denial of a ticket from Mathura was the reason for her exit from the grand old party.

On Friday morning, an upset Chaturvedi removed 'AICC Spokesperson' from her Twitter profile and tweeted the letter of resignation she sent to Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Chaturvedi had lambasted the Congress and said that “lumpen goons" get preference over those who had "given their sweat and blood" to the party. She has alleged that the party men had misbehaved with her and also issued rape threats to her.

“Deeply saddened that lumpen goons get preference in @incindia over those who have given their sweat and blood. Having faced brickbats and abuse across board for the party yet those who threatened me within the party getting away with not even a rap on their knuckles is unfortunate (sic)," she wrote.

She went incommunicado after the tweet and no party colleague could get through to her for over 24 hours. Her usually busy Twitter account also remained inactive till the time she changed her bio to remove the Congress links.

"I kept speaking in a 'bindaas' (fearless) way despite being abused and trolled constantly," she said. "I was pained when some party workers made comments about me. After being suspended, they were reinstated," she added.

Chaturvedi said the statements made against her were ignored by the party (Congress), despite speaking for 10 years at a "great personal cost" and without joining politics formally. "I was very let down. I thought If I didn't fight for my self respect, I would fail women. I have joined the Sena after a lot of thinking, and understanding my responsibility towards the cause of women," she said.

She denied that she resigned from the Congress after being denied a ticket in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. "Parties keep fighting elections. However, only fighting and winning is not life. The work of party workers should be to accept an ideology and work towards the cause," Thackeray said.

According to sources, the UP Congress workers had misbehaved with her and heckled her when she was addressing a press conference on the Rafale deal in Mathura. The leaders were reportedly miffed with her over the possibility that she was seeking a ticket from the area.

The Congress had initially removed them but recently, because of the elections and the need for local support, they were taken back, after leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, in charge of the campaign in west UP, gave the move a go ahead. It was said that the men had expressed regret about their behaviour.

Sources said that before her tweet against the Congress, her appeal to the Gandhis also did not work and she feels she was not given the respect she deserved.

Some within the party, however, said it’s wrong of Chaturvedi to say she wasn’t given respect. They told News18.com, “She is a relatively new entrant to the party and in a short time she has risen to become one of the most high profile and respected faces within the party."