Bengaluru: Senior Congress leader and former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Adagur H. Vishwanath, who was mulling quitting Congress for some time now, has finally resigned from the primary membership of the party.

Participating in an interaction with reporters organised by the Bangalore Reporters Guild at the Bengaluru Press Club this morning, Vishwanath, who is also a former Minister, announced that he had sent his resignation in a 3-page letter to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Dr. G. Parameshwara.

Stating that he was associated with the Congress for 40 years, Vishwanath said he was quitting the party with a heavy heart. “Congress is like a mother to me and it is painful for me to quit,” he said.

Recalling his association with the party, Vishwanath maintained that the State Congress was undergoing a transformation for the worse since the last 4 years with the entry of leaders from other parties.

Stating that the Congress High Command is getting weak with CM Siddharamaiah gaining hold over the party, he said that in fact CM has become the High Command now. Vishwanath asserted that he had never misused power.

Detailing the humiliations he faced in the party in the last couple of years, Vishwanath lashed out at Siddharamaiah saying that the CM was out to politically finish anyone who questioned him. Claiming that old Congress leaders were being sidelined, he said that the CM had built a coterie around him and even the High Command was helpless.

Stating that the Congress had become a springboard to migrant leaders for attaining positions or power, Vishwanath said he was forced to quit as migrants were elbowing out senior Congress leaders in taking decisions.

When asked about his future political course, Vishwanath asserted that he was not joining any other party for now. “I will be touring all districts of the State to elicit opinion of my supporters,” he said while giving no hint on which party he was going to join.

Hundreds of supporters of Vishwanath from his home district of Mysuru arrived in the State capital in over 10 buses and other vehicles to extend their support.