Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Ashok Chavan moments after he handed in his resignation, saying that the party was anguished to learn of the former CM's exit. Terming Chavan a "betrayer", Ramesh said that the party gave Chavan more opportunity than he probably deserved it.
"When friends and colleagues leave a political party that has given them much—perhaps much more they deserved—it is always a matter of anguish. But to those who are vulnerable, THAT Washing Machine will always prove more attractive than ideological commitment or personal loyalties," he said on X.
"These betrayers don't realise that their exit opens up vast new opportunities to those whose growth they have always stunted," he added.
The "washing machine" rhetoric is often by the opposition leaders to describe the BJP's so-called coercive tactics to make the alleged ‘corrupt’ leaders jump the ship in order to escape the pressure from investigating agencies.
Another senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan expressed confidence that Chavan's exit won't open floodgates of mass defections, asserting that the party is intact.
"Our senior colleague Ashok Chavan has resigned from the party and also as MLA. It's a sad decision. This was being talked about for a long time. We didn't think he would take this decision. He was made CM on two occasions. What went wrong, who was he upset about - only he will tell about this," Prithviraj Chavan said.
"This is very tragic. All members of the Congress Legislative party are together. BJP leaders spreading rumours that some people are in touch with them," he added