Was Invited to Join BJP Many Times, Says Congress Veteran Sushilkumar Shinde

Mumbai:  Senior Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde has claimed that he received offers to join the Bharatiya Janata Party many times, but he declined. The former Maharashtra Chief Minister made the claim on Friday while responding to a controversy over his grandson Shikhar Pahariya wishing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday by putting up banners. 

Shinde said there was nothing wrong with extending such greetings.

"I also met the Prime Minister recently. There is nothing wrong with meeting him. But what matters is the ideology and principles one follows. I, too, have been asked to join them (the BJP) several times. I asked them what would I achieve by going there, and said I would rather continue doing my work where I am," he said. 

Shinde also said that he had seen how those who joined the BJP in recent years were faring. 

Reacting to Shinde's statement, his party colleague Prithviraj Chavan said sometimes such offers are made casually. 

"Sometimes, people casually invite others to join their party. On some occasions, messages also come from the highest level," Chavan said.

As a political organisation, the BJP had the right to expand its base, he added.

"I am sure that even if an offer was made....he did not accept it. That much is clear," Chavan said.

Sushilkumar Shinde, 85, has been Maharashtra Chief Minister as well as Union Home Minister during his long political career. His daughter Praniti Shinde is a Congress MP.