Monday, March 21 2005 12:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ajmer: Former Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam hailed the leadership qualities of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and expressed a desire to join the party.

"If I get a proposal from the Congress, I will consider," he told reporters in Ajmer. He also told newspersons that Sonia Gandhi was competent to lead the country.

He criticised Sena chief Bal Thackeray's 'corporate politics'.

Nirupam recently quit the Shiv Sena and tendered his resignation to the Rajya Sabha over disputes with party leadership on the issue of alleged sale of Reliance Infocomm shares to people known to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan.

Nirupam was in Ajmer on Saturday (Mar 19, 2005) to offer chadar at the dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.