Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai

Chennai, Jan 30: In a major blow to Congress, senior leader Jayanthi Natarajan today resigned from the primary membership of the party, ending her nearly 30 years of association with the Congress.

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress high command for sidelining her and giving no reasons for her sudden removal both as minister and as spokesperson, Natarajan said that she could no longer survive in a 'suffocating' environment which the party had become.

"The time has come for me to rethink my association with Congress because of what happened in recent past. Indian National Congress is no longer the Congress that I joined with such great hope and ideals," she said.

Giving specific instances of where she was wronged by the high command, Natarajan said that when she was minister for environment, she received requests from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi who forwarded complaints from NGOs about environmental deterioration because of large projects.

"I was asked by Rahul Gandhi's office to make sure environment was protected and to ensure large projects don't cause tremendous havoc. I too felt that environtment should be protected at all costs. Because of this I stopped some great investment projects and many in the cabinet were not pleased with this. I had to face anger and wrath of my cabinet colleagues who felt economic progress was being blocked.

"I was only following party line under instructions from my leader. Madam Sonia Gandhi was also interested in forest rights, and said development of roads must be studied in the context of forest dwellers," she said.

Giving examples of certain projects, she said, "I stopped Vedanta's Niyamgiri project. Rahul Gandhi told the tribals there that he would be their "sipahi" (soldier). Adani project received inputs from NGOs who had shared their stand with Rahul Gandhi. Specific input were given to me by his office on this."

Accusing Rahul Gandhi of making a u-turn, she said that later in a meeting with FICCI, after her removal as enivironment minister, Rahul Gandhi told industrialists that there would be 'no environment bottlenecks' to projects.

"On December 20, 2013, I was called by the Prime Minister who looked very upset and grim and he told me that Madam Sonia Gandhi wanted me to be removed as environment minister and engage in party work. I agreed and within half an hour I gave my resignation. But the next day, I came to know that persons from Rahul Gandhi's office were calling the media and planting stories that my resignation was not for party work," she said.

After being removed as minister, she was also kept out of the list of party's spokespersons, she said, for no apparent reason. Constant efforts to meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi went in vain as neither gave appointments, she said. "I even wrote and email to Rahul Gandhi saying even a murdered has his day in the court. But all he replied was 'I am busy now, will call you soon', but that day (speaking to Rahul) never came."

She also made it clear that she was not blackmailed into resigning by anyone, and has no plans of joining any other party. "I will have to think about my future," she said.