"No compromise on Ram and Rashtra," Acharya Pramod Krishnam's strong response after expulsion from Congress

Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 11 : After his expulsion from the Congress over indiscipline and anti-party remarks, Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Sunday said that there cannot be any compromise on 'Ram' and 'Rashtra'.
Coming down heavily on the Congress party following his expulsion, Krishnam said that he would wish to be expelled for 14 years instead of 6 years as Lord Rama also went into exile for 14 years.
"Last night through many media outlets, I got to know that the Congress party has issued a letter from its side. KC Venugopal in the letter has said that I have been expelled for anti-party activities. First of all, I thank Congress leadership for freeing me from the party. Along with this, I want to ask them what activities were there that were against the party,?" Krishnam said while addressing a press conference.
"Secondly, I wish to Congress party to expel me for 14 years instead of 6 years. Lord Rama was also expelled for 14 years," he added.
Questing the allegations of anti-party activity, the expelled Congress leader said, "Taking the name of Lord Rama or going to Ayodhya or accepting the invitation of Pran Pratishtha event or laying the foundation of Shri Kalki Dham or meeting Narendra Modi ji is anti-party activity? These are my questions from the leadership of Congress and they must tell the people what are the things that are anti-party activities."
He said that there were many decisions taken by the grand old party that he did not agree with, which included opposing the abrogation of Article 370.
"There were many decisions taken by the Congress party that I did not agree with, like opposing the abrogation of Article 370. Congress should not have opposed this. Congress should not have supported DMK leaders when they compared Sanatana Dharma with Dengue and Malaria. I want to clarify one thing, no compromise should be made on Ram and Rashtra. Today, I got free," Krishnam said.
Reacting to the action taken against him, Pramod Krishnam said that the promise made by him to former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi that he wouldn't leave the Congress Party till he died, was the reason he didn't leave the party despite various insults.
"I have been connected through Congress for years. Rajesh Pilot made me meet Rajeev Gandhi Ji. I said then that I won't leave Congress till I die. I have made my promises. There were many issues of Congress that I did not agree with. Like the abrogation of Article 370, triple Talaq, Congress should not have opposed it," he said.
"The party started insulting me. I have faced a lot of insults, yet I didn't leave the party. The promise that I made to Rajiv Gandhi, used to come in between and hence I did not leave the party. I also thought that the person who does not know how to respect people who have stood with their grandparents, from Ghulam Nahi Azad to Kamal Nath, from Bhupendra Singh Hooda to Digvijaya Singh and Anand Sharma. These are the people who were with Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi. They were the people who held the hands of Rahul Gandhi and made him learn how to walk," the expelled Congress leader added.
Hitting out at the grand old party, Krishnam said, "The question is not of my expulsion, the question is that the Congress, which was of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad, Indira Gandhi, where they have brought this congress?"
In a veiled attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Acharya Pramod Krishnam said, "The question is of the future of the country. I know that in a democracy, a strong opposition is necessary. But in the name of strong opposition, they only have hate against one person. Being in opposition doesn't mean hating your prime minister. I have to say that it is unfortunate that he hates PM Modi to the extent that now he has started to hate the country. A person who doesn't respect his mother or sister, how will he respect others?"
"Sachin Pilot has been disrespected a lot in the party and like Lord Shiv, he is gulping the poison. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also being disrespected...You should ask her why is she not joining Rahul Gandhi in his Yatra. The question is who is giving instructions to disrespect them because our president (Mallikarjun Kharge) is just a rubber stamp," Krishnam added.
He said that from now on, he will stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the nation's development.
"I am happy to say that I did not leave Congress. I did not break the promise that I made with Rajiv Gandhi. But from today, for the nation's development, I will stand by the prime minister of the country. Shri Kalki Dham foundation laying ceremony will be held on February 19. And I am proud that PM Modi will be attending the event. I thank UP CM Yogi Adityanath ji as well for accepting the invitation to come to Shri Kalki Dham," the expelled Congress leader said.
When asked about joining hands with the BJP, Krishnam said, "I don't know where I will go. I have faith in god. I will go wherever God takes me. I am with Modi ji because he is with the country."
The decision to expel Krishnam was taken by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday after a proposal seeking his dismissal from the party was mooted by the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
"In view of the complaints of indiscipline and repeated statements against the party. Congress President has approved the proposal of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee to expel Pramod Krishnam from the party for six years with immediate effect," read an official statement issued by the Congress on Saturday.