Capping two-and-half years of strained ties since he was ignored by the Congress high command for chief ministership in Haryana, the party's veteran leader Bhajan Lal and his son Kuldeep Bishnoi on Sunday quit the party, attacking leader Sonia Gandhi and floated a new outfit.
At a largely-attended rally at the home turf of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Bishnoi, suspended from the Congress for his diatribe against party leadership, and his father unveiled the plaque marking the launch of the new party 'Haryana Janhit Congress' with rising sun as its symbol.
Bhajan Lal, 77, did not speak at the rally but Bishnoi, the Lok Sabha MP from Bhiwani, who would be the president of the new outfit, mounted a scathing attack on Sonia Gandhi accusing her of being "power-hungry" and "murdering democracy" in the party by foisting Hooda as the chief minister against wishes of of party MLAs and people of the state."
He said people had voted Congress to power hoping that Bhajan Lal would be the chief minister.
Bishnoi alleged Sonia had "no respect for people's "sentiments" and had even "questioned the existence of Lord Rama", an apparent reference to the Centre's affidavit on Ram Sethu issue.
"You have to decide whether you want Rama or Rome," he told rallyists in remarks reminiscent of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's recent utterance that it was a "battle between Ram and Rome".
He accused the Congress president of being "power hungry" and compromising with Left parties on Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.