Former NCP leader Tariq Anwar meets Rahul Gandhi, joins Congress

NEW DELHI: Days after resigning from the Nationalist Congress Party, Tariq Anwar on Saturday joined Congress, news agency PTI reported. Anwar met Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday after he is said to have joined the party. 

The NCP founding member had quit the party last month and had even given up his Lok Sabha membership. He had given NCP national president Sharad Pawar's "clean chit" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rafale deal as the reason for quitting the party.

Congress had earlier said that Anwar was "welcome" to return to the party from where he started his political career. Anwar was the Bihar Congress president in the 1980s and had represented his current parliamentary constituency Katihar as a Congress MP for times. He joined hands with Pawar and deceased Meghalaya leader PA Sangma to form the NCP in 1999. 

The NCP later allied with the Congress and Anwar served as a Union minister in the UPA-II government.

Anwar's move came a day after media reports quoted Pawar telling a Marathi news channel that he did not think people had doubts over the PM's intentions in the Rafale fighter jet deal. The Bihar leader said he completely disagreed with Pawar's version, which he said has shattered the faith of countrymen in the Opposition.

Pawar's reported statement was lauded by BJP chief Amit Shah who asked Rahul Gandhi to take a cue from his ally and place national interests above party politics. An NCP spokesperson, however, issued a clarification terming the media reports quoting Pawar as "misleading and confusing" and claimed the party chief has had not given a clean chit to Modi.