Former Union Minister S M Krishna has said that he resigned as External Affairs Minister in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet because of the “extra-constitutional authority” allegedly wielded by Rahul Gandhi, reports Indian Express.

Manmohan Singh had no say over the portfolio despite being the Prime Minister, claims Krishna.

“Rahul Gandhi was then a nobody, not even a general secretary. Despite that, he issued a diktat that those who turned 80 can’t be a minister. When I heard that, I submitted my resignation and came to Bangalore,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

SM Krishna was the External Affairs Minister in the Manmohan Singh government between 2009 to 2012. He resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP in 2017.

Adding that the present Congress chief was “not answerable to anyone – neither Parliament nor governance,” Krishna recalled an incident when Gandhi called the Ordinance that would protect convicted MPs and MLAs as “complete nonsense.”

The UPA government had cleared the Ordinance, which sought to negate the Supreme Court judgment that pronounced that sitting MPs and MLAs either jailed on charges or after conviction, would have to resign immediately.

However, Congress termed Krishna's remarks as “disgusting.”

“Today when I hear his statements, even that one per cent of respect I had for him is gone. For a person of his stature to speak like this, is disgusting. I don’t know what is making him speak like this.” Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao was quoted as saying in the report.