Padmaja Venugopal, the daughter of Congress stalwart and former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran, said on Friday that the Congress lacks a strong leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Padmaja, who joined the BJP on Thursday received a grand welcome at Thiruvananthapuram airport by BJP leaders and party workers, including state president K Surendran, reported news wire PTI.

Padmaja later said at a press conference that it pained her to leave the Congress, but she was not ready to put up any longer with the "insults" she has been suffering. She said people have been asking her why she joined BJP as she had stood strong with the Congress despite facing problems from within the party.