New Delhi: Amid speculation that he might resign from the Congress, senior leader Manish Tewari on Thursday said that he was "a partner in the party and not a tenant".
When asked about his decision on resignation, the former Union Minister denied any plans to quit the Congress "unless someone wants to push me out".
"I have said this earlier also. I am not a kirayedar (tenant) but a rishtedar (partner) in the Congress party," ANI quoted Manish Tewari as saying.
"Agar koi dhakke mar kar bahar nikalega (if anyone wants to push me out), that's a different thing. But as far as I am concerned, I have given 40 years of my life to this party. Our family has shed blood for the sake of the country's unity. If anyone wants to push me out, that is a different matter," Manish Tewari told news agency ANI.
When asked about the recent spate of resignations from Congress, he said it hurt the party. "Any leader who leaves the party causes damage and it should be thought about seriously," he said.
Earlier this week, former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar, who has been in the Congress for nearly 46 years, quit the party in the middle of crucial elections to five states.
READ | There May Be Some Truth In What Ashwani Kumar Said In Resignation Letter On Congress: Manish Tewari
"Having given my thoughtful consideration to the matter, I have concluded that in the present circumstances and consistent with my dignity, I can best subserve larger national causes outside the party-fold," said Ashwini in a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
On Wednesday, Manish Tewari said there might be some truth in what the former Union law minister wrote in his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi.
Manish Tewari said the concerns raised by Kumar about the functioning of the Congress were also pointed out by the "G23" leaders in 2020.
The "G23" refers to the group of 23 senior Congress leaders who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 requesting an active leadership and organisational rejig in the party.