After meeting with senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, Abdul Khaleque has withdrawn his resignation.
Announcing the same, Khaleque said, "I am withdrawing my resignation. I was in Congress, I still am and will continue to remain in the party. I never questioned the ideals of the Congress or Soniaji, I just spoke what was in my heart."
"After I submitted my resignation, I was contacted by KC Venugopal, the office of Sonia Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge ji. Heeding to their requests, I am hereby withdrawing my resignation," added the Barpeta MP.
Earlier in the day, Abdul Khaleque met with former Congress president Sonia Gandhi asserting that he had full trust in her. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Khaleque stated that he had a detailed discussion on shortcomings he had brought forth with Sonia Gandhi and that the central leadership of the Congress had assured him that they would look into the matter.
Khaleque said, “I met Madam Sonia Gandhi today. We had a very fruitful discussion. I told her what I had on my mind. I will not comment on whether I will again rejoin the Congress party or not. Whatever I had written on my resignation letter, I discussed the same things with Sonia Gandhi ji.”
Further on being asked whether he would contest the elections independently, Khaleque said that he is not fighting this Lok Sabha election.
This comes after speculations emerged on Tuesday over the possibility of Khaleque withdrawing his resignation from the party's membership after meeting with Congress General Secretary of Organization KC Venugopal.
Addressing a press conference last Saturday in Guwahati a day after announcing his resignation from the Congress, Abdul Khaleque had brought up several issues that he said led to his decision to quit.
The Congress leader stated, "In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, I was one of only three Muslim MPs. We have some leaders among us who have this notion that if there are Muslims, Congress will survive. When Ghulam Nabi Azad was awarded the Padma Bhushan, there were many leaders within the party who were not very pleased. Everyone has self-respect, that's what I have always said."
Khaleque highlighted the necessity of representation for Muslim communities, indicating that around 4-5 seats in Assam should be allocated to Muslim candidates, considering the state's Muslim population of 34 per cent. "In Assam, tickets need to be given to 4-5 Muslims. Assam has a Muslim population of 34 per cent and politics in Assam revolves around these Muslims. All parties, including BJP, Congress, and AIUDF, engage in politics targeting Muslims."
