News Politics National Days after quitting Congress, Gurudas Kamat meets Ahmed Patel, AK Antony

Days after quitting Congress, Gurudas Kamat meets Ahmed Patel, AK Antony

Efforts to pacify Gurudas Kamat, who had quit the party three days ago, continued today with senior Congress leaders A K Antony and Ahmed Patel holding separate meetings with him amid signals that a way out could be found soon.

Gurudas Kamat Image Source : PTIGurudas Kamat

New Delhi: Efforts to pacify Gurudas Kamat, who had quit the party three days ago, continued today with senior Congress leaders A K Antony and Ahmed Patel holding separate meetings with him amid signals that a way out could be found soon.

Asked whether there was any forward movement after these parleys, Kamat tersely said, "No comments."

He had a meeting with Patel, political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, late last night soon after he arrived here from Mumbai.

He met Antony at Patel's residence here where several leaders had come to condole the death of his daughter-in-law Zainab Neduo.

Antony also refused to comment on his meeting with Kamat, saying he had come for a social function.

When asked whether he was taking back his resignation, Kamat said, "No comments". When further probed whether he would meet the Congress President, he said that would happen "in due course".

On June 6, the 61-year-old Congress general secretary had announced that he was quitting active politics.

Kamat had said that he has the "highest respect and regard" for Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi and "my resignation is purely on personal grounds".

Kamat, who had been Mumbai PCC chief for a long time, was reportedly unhappy over the appointment of his known detractor Sanjay Nirupam as the head of the city unit of the party.

The move had come ahead of next year's Mumbai civic elections, where Congress is hoping to dislodge the incumbent Shiv Sena-BJP combine.

Seeking to dispel the notion that he was upset over party electing P Chidambaram to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra and former Chief Minister Narayan Rane to Legislative Council, Kamat said he had no issues with them and he had worked under the senior Congress leader in the Home Ministry.

Meanwhile, former Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde expressed confidence that the leadership would resolve the issue by addressing the grievances of Kamat.

Shinde had a meeting Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in the last two days.