BJP Rajya Sabha member Ashok Chavan, who last month quit the Congress, on Monday said he did not meet Sonia Gandhi before leaving the grand old party and dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s comments in this regard as “baseless”. Addressing a rally in Mumbai on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not “fight this power any more and didn’t want to go to jail”.Reacting to it, Chavan in a video message on Monday said Rahul Gandhi made the statement in a rally on Sunday and did not take anybody’s name. Reacting to it, Chavan in a video message on Monday said Rahul Gandhi made the statement in a rally on Sunday and did not take anybody’s name.
“But if he is saying that about me, then it is illogical and baseless. The truth is that till I resigned from the Congress, I was working at the party headquarters. I resigned from the post of MLA and a few moments later resigned from the party also. Till then, no one knew that I had resigned,” the former state chief minister said.“I never met Sonia Gandhi. It is baseless (to say) that I met Sonia Gandhi and expressed my emotions. It is a political statement from the election point of view,” Chavan said.After Chavan quit the Congress last month, he joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which nominated him for the Rajya Sabha poll from Maharashtra.
Chavan was later declared elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed.Two high-profile political leaders from Maharashtra quit the Congress this year; former Union Minister Milind Deora went to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Chavan went to the BJP. Chavan also criticised the Congress for failing to prep for the Lok Sabha election, which begins April 19; Maharashtra will vote in five phases starting from that date. "State of Congress vis-a-vis BJP? I don't see them ready for a fight (and) if you don't fight, how will you win?" he said. In 2010, Chavan stepped down as chief minister following allegations of involvement in the Adarsh housing scam in Mumbai. He was also state Congress chief during 2014-19.