Former CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat dalit leader Jignesh Mevani joined the Congress in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi at AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The duo had met Gandhi earlier in the day at Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh Park, ITO on the 114th birth anniversary of the freedom fighter.
"I am joining the Congress because it's not just a party, it's an idea. It's the country's oldest and most democratic party, and I am emphasising on 'democratic'...Not just me, many think that country can't survive without Congress...," Kumar said.
Kumar, a former JNU students' leader, had joined the Communist Party of India (CPI) ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election and had unsuccessfully contested from Begusarai in Bihar against Giriraj Singh of the BJP.
Mevani, who is currently a legislator in Gujarat and represents the Vadgam constituency, is the convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM).
"The country is going through an unprecedented crisis. I support this oldest party not as a politician but as an Indian. I am here to safeguard the idea of India. However, due to technical reasons, as I'm an independent MLA, I have not joined the party," Mevani said.
MevaniĀ is a lawyer-activist and a former journalist. His entry into the Congress comes at a time when it is wooing the scheduled castes community after making one amongst them the chief minister of Punjab.
Congress said more young leaders would join the party in the coming days.
