Nirupam makes a quiet entry into Cong fold

Former Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Nirupam was today admitted into the Congress fold at a low-key function here.Nirupam, who had quit the Shiv Sena ...

Former Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Nirupam was today admitted into the Congress fold at a low-key function here.

Nirupam, who had quit the Shiv Sena recently following differences with the party leadership, would be a primary member of the party, Maharashtra Congress president Prabha Rau said.

‘‘I do not find any difficulty in Nirupam’s induction into the party. The decision has been taken by our party president, taking every thing into account,’’ Rau said when asked about differences in the state unit on admitting the former Sena leader into the party. Nirupam, who, as editor of Sena eveninger Dopahar ka Saamna, had been critical of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, refused to comment on the matter.

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‘‘I have left the Shiv Sena and its ideology and now I will follow Congress policies,’’ he said. On the issue of Hindutva, Nirupam said, ‘‘I will always remain a Hindu, but I will never work towards creating differences between people in the name of religion.’’

Nirupam, who was with the Shiv Sena for nearly 11 years, said his joining that party was not a mistake and he left following ‘‘ideological differences’’. He had quit the party following differences with the party leadership on the issue of allocation of Reliance Infocomm shares.