New Delhi [India], Jan. 16 : Dubbing the joining of former Congress leader N.D. Tiwari in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as "shocking", Manishi Tiwari, nephew of ND Tiwari, on Wednesday, said that the senior leader is not in proper state of mind and is being controlled by "vested interest." "It's very unfortunate, in fact, it is very shocking for the Tiwary family members and we cannot even imagine that this step can be taken by Tiwary ji, because we are a family of freedom fighters.
We have fought for independence, and hence, we are extremely taken aback. I think this has been done on the behest of a few, who have vested interest. They want to seek political mileage out of it," Manish told ANI. Manishi further said that the members of the Tiwari family do not endorse this move and will always see themselves as 'eternal part' of the Indian National Congress.
"He is mentally not well, you can see his reports. I am sure N.D. Tiwari doesn't even know he has joined the BJP. Ask him alone in a room and you will get the answer," he added. Earlier, Congress veteran Narayan Dutt Tiwari and his son Rohit Shekhar joined the BJP in the presence of party president Amit Shah.
The 91-year-old leader served as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice (1976-77, 1984-85, 1988-89) and the chief minister of Uttarakhand once (2002-2007).
In 1986-1987, he served in former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet as Minister for External Affairs.
This political development comes ahead of the high-stakes Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls..
Source: ANI
