Lucknow, Jan 25 (PTI) Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate here on Tuesday described as “cowardice” anyone quitting the party to join the BJP, referring to former Union minister R P N Singh, who switched sides on Tuesday. Singh is the second big exit from the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after Jitin Prasada quit the party last year. Prasada joined the BJP and later became a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government. Reacting to Singh joining the BJP, Shrinate said, "The battle, which the Congress is fighting, is a difficult one and it can be fought with courage and bravery. The Congress is fighting this battle against the BJP government, its arrogance, agency and capitalism." "This is a battle for truth. Our party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said this battle cannot be fought with cowardice. Hence, whosoever is going, we are praying for their bright future," she said. In a statement issued by the UP Congress, she said the battle of the Congress against the BJP is that of ideology, principles and truth. "I don"t think that any person after staying in the Congress can go to a party, which is of the complete opposite ideology. Maybe this is what Priyankaji calls cowardice. The Congress has been fighting this battle and it will move ahead," Shrinate added. She further said the BJP is staring at an electoral loss as people of the state and the country are fed up with its policies. The day is not far when people of the state and the country will vote them out, said Shrinate. Reacting to the statement of Shrinate, UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla told PTI, "The Congress has become a party of "ek beta, ek maai (one son, one mother)", "ek beti, ek ghar jamai" (one daughter, one son-in-law).” “Any leader who remains at the feet of these people (members of the Gandhi family) will survive. But, a leader who is deep-rooted and has love for the country and the state, cannot stay with the Congress," he said. R P N Singh joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Singh was in-charge for the Jharkhand affairs at the AICC. He earlier represented the Padrauna Assembly constituency and had defeated Swami Prasad Maurya from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Singh was on Monday included in the Congress list of 30 star campaigners for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. PTI NAV RDK RDK