Nation more important than politics, says Kripashankar Singh

In 1977, Kripashankar Singh, who had arrived in the city from his native Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, organised a rasta roko at the Kherwadi junction after the erstwhile Janata Party government arrested former premier Indira Gandhi. This marked the entry of Singh, then in his late 20s, and a first-generation migrant to Mumbai, into politics.
Now Singh, who rose from being a vegetable vendor and factory worker to a former minister of state for home, and the ex-president of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC), has cited Indira Gandhi and her aggressive position vis-a-vis Pakistan, to criticise the Congress for going soft on nationalism and placing politics over national interest.
Singh, who quit the Congress on Tuesday, said his pleas to former party president Rahul Gandhi seeking a course correction for India's grand old party, had fallen on deaf ears.
"This was a decision I did not want to take. I am reminded of Indiraji again. When India went to war with Pakistan in 1971, it was (BJP stalwart and former prime minister late) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who supported her and even lauded her as Goddess Durga.
The nation is more important than politics… when it comes to nationalism and patriotism, people are willing to keep all existential issues aside to support the country" said Singh, while speaking to DNA.

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