Former Nationalist Congress Party leader Tariq Anwar joined the Congress on Saturday. The former Lok Sabha MP from Katihar and his supporters met Congress President Rahul Gandhi Anwar at his Tughlaq Lane residence. He is expected to release an official statement later in the day, PTI reported

Anwar quit the NCP in September after party chief Sharad Pawar’s remarks about the Rafale defence deal that were seemingly in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The NCP chief however denied he had supported the prime minister, who has been criticised by the government for alleged irregularities in the deal, and called for a joint parliamentary committee investigation into the agreement.

“I resigned after being hurt by Pawar saheb’s comments,” Anwar had said after handing over his resignation. “There must be a thorough probe on the corruption in Rafale deal.”

Following his departure, the party’s General Secretary Munaf Hakim also resigned. Hakim told reporters that the party had not consulted Anwar on the matter even though he was one of the NCP’s founder members. “In such a case, it is difficult to defend the party’s image after Pawar saheb supported Modi in the Rafale case,” Hakim had said.