Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi: After 19 years Tariq Anwar Tariq Anwar on Saturday returned to the Congress in the presence of party President Rahul Gandhi. Almost two decades ago he had walked out and joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He resigned from NCP few days ago.
Gandhi has welcomed Anwar into “the Congress family”, the party tweeted posting a picture of the two leaders shaking hands.
Anwar had quit the NCP and his Lok Sabha membership on September 28 expressing disagreement with party chief Sharad Pawar whom he has been upset with for giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rafale deal.
Anwar had in 1999 joined NCP chief Sharad Pawar and some others in quitting the Congress to protest against the appointment of a person of foreign origin – Sonia Gandhi being appointed the party chief.
Anwar hails from Bihar and was representing Katihar in Lok Sabha. He had, however, resigned from his Lok Sabha seat after quitting the NCP on September 28.
Anwar’s return to the Congress is significant as he was one of the three tallest Congress leaders in 1999 (along with Sharad Pawar and PA Sangma) to leave the party objecting to Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origins when she was brought in to head the party in 1999.
The trio had formed NCP.
