New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday asserted that all those who quit the party to switch over to the BJP, particularly the younger leaders, should never be taken back into the party fold.
In an interview with PTI Videos, Ramesh said it would be "shameful for us" to even consider them to come back.
The Congress leader, however, specified that this was his personal opinion.
Ramesh's remarks came in response to a question on the exodus to the BJP of young leaders such as Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada and Milind Deora over the last 12 years and whether the Congress could consider their return in future if such a situation presents itself.
"To all those who have left the party. I don't want to talk of any individual but all those who have left the party after enjoying the perks of power and office, after having been the beneficiaries of the party, it would be shameful for us to even consider them to come back, but Indian politics being Indian politics," Ramesh told PTI.
The last 12 years has demonstrated who is resilient and people who are in the Congress today are ideologically committed and ideologically wedded to the party, Ramesh said, adding, "we are not the party in power".
It is unfortunate that those, particularly the younger people, who have enjoyed office, who have enjoyed the perks of power, who got important positions in the party organisation, decided to leave the party and go to a party which is ideologically diametrically opposed to that of the Congress, he said.
"My opinion is that they should not be taken back. It is my private opinion," Ramesh said.
Leaders such as Scindia, Prasada, Deora and RPN Singh were considered as the next generation leaders of the Congress and close to former party chief Rahul Gandhi but they switched to the BJP at different points in time.
These leaders hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership after switching to the BJP and some of them also took pot shots at their former party's leadership.
