Actor and former campaigner of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Khushboo joined the Congress on Wednesday and described the party as the only one which could hold all sections of the society together.
Accompanied by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president E. V. K. S. Elangovan and general secretary in-charge of the State Mukul Wasnik, the actor first met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence and was then escorted to the party headquarters next door, where she briefly interacted with the media. “This is a homecoming for me; my family has always been supporting the Congress. It is a moment of pride for me that I am at a place where I always wanted to be.”
She refused to be drawn into discussing her stint with the DMK or reasons for leaving the party.
“I did not dwell on them when I left the party, and I don’t want to reveal the reasons for leaving the DMK now. You know them anyway,” was her stock reply to questions on parting ways with the DMK in June. “Let bygones be bygones.” Asked why she was joining the Congress at a time when the drift from all parties was towards the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Elangovan stepped in to clarify that “no one knows the BJP in Tamil Nadu; there is no rush towards the party in the State.”
Secular party
“Why not join the Congress? This is the only party which can do good for India. It is a secular party and the only party which can keep India united,” Ms. Khushboo said.
As to what role she envisaged for herself in the party, the actor — who was made to flaunt her multi-lingual skills — said, “I have just joined the Congress and my focus will be on working for the country. I am waiting for the party to assign me my task.”
