Former NCP leader Tariq Anwar meets Rahul Gandhi, joins Congress

New Delhi, Oct 27 Days after resigning from the Nationalist Congress Party, Tariq Anwar on Saturday joined Congress revealed. Anwar met Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday after he is said to host joined the party.

The NCP founding member had quit the party a month ago and had even surrendered his Lok Sabha membership. He had given NCP national president Sharad Pawar's "spotless chit" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rafale bargain as the explanation behind stopping the party.

Congress had before said that Anwar was "welcome" to come back to the party from where he began his political career. Anwar was the Bihar Congress president during the 1980s and had spoken to his current parliamentary constituency Katihar as a Congress MP for times. He held hands with Pawar and perished Meghalaya leader PA Sangma to shape the NCP in 1999.

The NCP later aligned with the Congress and Anwar filled in as a Union minister in the UPA-II government.

Anwar's turn came multi day after media reports cited Pawar telling a Marathi news channel that he didn't think individuals had questions over the PM's aims in the Rafale contender stream bargain. The Bihar leader said he completely disagreed with Pawar's variant, which he said has smashed the confidence of countrymen in the Opposition.

Pawar's accounted for explanation was praised by BJP chief Amit Shah who asked Rahul Gandhi take a signal from his partner and place national interests above party politics. A NCP representative, in any case, issued a clarification terming the media reports citing Pawar as "misdirecting and befuddling" and asserted the party chief has had not given a clean chit to Modi.