After 52 years in Congress, Pachouri joins BJP in MP

A four-time Rajya Sabha member, Pachouri was considered the Brahmin face of the party in Madhya Pradesh.

Bhopal: Former Union minister Suresh Pachouri snapped his 52-year-old links with the Congress and joined the BJP along an ex-MP and three former MLAs.

Pachouri, 72, was known for his proximity to the Nehru-Gandhi family.

“Congress which used to claim to be a casteless and classless party is now dividing the country on the lines of caste,” he told reporters after embracing the BJP in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.

Also at the event were MP BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

A four-time Rajya Sabha member, Pachouri was considered the Brahmin face of the party in Madhya Pradesh and had served in the P.V. Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh ministries at the Centre. He had resigned from the Congress on Thursday.

In his resignation letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Pachouri saidL “I have given more than 50 years of my life in the Congress party… I have served the party and the government with absolute honesty and complete devotion.”