CHANDIGARH: Barely two weeks after former state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar joined the BJP, four former Punjab cabinet ministers Balbir Singh Sidhu, Sunder Sham Arora, Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Raj Kumar Verka joined the saffron party on Saturday.
Former MLA from Barnala and expelled Congress leader Kewal Singh Dhillon, who is considered close to former chief minister and now Punjab Lok Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh, also joined the saffron party. Former health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu's brother and Mohali mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu also embraced the BJP. Other leaders to jump on the saffron bandwagon are former Congress leader and four-time former MLA from Samrala Amrik Singh Dhillon and his grandson Karanvir Singh Dhillon, who is president of Samrala municipal council. Jakhar is believed to have played a big role in the exodus of leaders.
The joining ceremony was held after Union minister Amit Shah had reached the Punjab BJP headquarters in Chandigarh on Saturday afternoon, but he was not present at the ceremony which was attended by Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Som Prakash, Punjab BJP in-charge Dushyant Gautam, party's national general secretary Tarun Chugh and Jakhar. Shah later addressed all the BJP leaders present at the party headquarters.
Grateful ‘elite’ have left space for younger leadership: Warring
All the four former cabinet ministers first met now BJP leader Sunil Jakhar at his residence in Panchkula on Saturday morning. Later, they all also held a meeting at Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s residence where Union minister Shekhawat and Delhi BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa were also present.
Sidhu, Arora and Kangar were ministers in Capt Amarinder Singh’s cabinet but were dropped after Charanjit Singh Channi took over as Punjab chief minister in September last year. Verka was inducted into the cabinet after Channi took over as chief minister. Sidhu earlier served as health and family welfare minister, Arora as industries and commerce minister, Kangar as revenue and rehabilitation minister, and Verka as social justice and medical education minister. Till Saturday Arora was one of the vice presidents of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC).
While sharing a video of four former cabinet ministers with Jakhar, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring tweeted, "Best of luck for joining BJP. Grateful that the 'elite' who enjoyed all the privileges in the party have vacated the space for younger leadership from common background."
He said that these leaders’s exit from the Congress will not have any impact on the party. However, Verka was of the view that all leaders should come on one platform under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and they were joining the BJP for the welfare of Punjab and its people.
Former chief parliamentary secretary and former MLA of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) from Bathinda Urban constituency Sarup Chand Singla also joined the BJP. He had resigned from the SAD on March 16 after the party's defeat in the state assembly elections. Former chief parliamentary secretary and former MLA from Sham Chaurasi Mohinder Kaur Josh, who was expelled from the SAD in December last year, also joined BJP.
