Jayanthi Natarajan quits Congress after writing letter to Sonia

Chennai, Jan 30: Congress leader and former union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan is reported to have quit the party on Friday. "I announce my resignation. I have not yet sent the letter," an anguished Natarajan told reporters. "I feel that the time has come now for me to rethink my association because what happened in the recent past. The Congress is no longer the Congress that I joined," said Natarajan. She was with the party for over 30 years. Sources in Congress said that they would take the line that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi stood for tribal rights in his views with regards to certain projects stated by Jayanthi Natarajan in her letter to the party president Sonia Gandhi that was published in The Hindu Friday. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress has been taken by surprise by the outpourings of Jayanthi Natarajan to Sonia Gandhi. "I am reading her (Natarajan's) letter published by The Hindu. It is for the party high command to decide on the future course of action," a senior state party leader told IANS on condition of anonymity. Another Congress member questioned Natarajan's contribution to develop the party at the grass root level. A senior leader of the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) led by G.K. Vasan told IANS that there is no news of Natarajan joining the party as of now. In her letter to the party president Natarajan said as the union environment minister she followed the party line with regard to protection of environment and also to "requests" from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's office. When contacted by IANS, Natarajan was not available for comment with regard to her Nov 5, 2014, letter to the party president and her future course of action.