Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose exit from the Congress triggered a political crisis in Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of party president JP Nadda in Delhi.
Scindia quit the Congress party earlier on Tuesday after which at least 22 MLAs, including six state ministers, resigned from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. He had ended his 18-year-old association with the Congress after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Other BJP leaders, including Dharmendra Pradhan, Baijayant Panda and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, were also present when Scindia was inducted. He is expected to be nominated by the BJP for Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.
Addressing a press conference, Nadda expressed his happiness over Scindia’s joining and also remembered his grandmother and BJP’s co-founder Vijaya Raje Scindia. “This is a very democratic party where every individual gets a say...Scindia will get the opportunity too,” he added. “I hope that Scindia will also get an opportunity to participate in all the activities of the party and see to it that the BJP becomes the rightful instrument in changing the destiny of the country.”
Scindia thanked Modi and Shah for welcoming him “into their family” in his first press conference as a BJP leader. He praised Modi, and said he got the biggest mandate in the history. “He improved the global image of India,” he said. “India’s future is safe in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hands.”
“Congress is unable to serve the country...party no longer what it used to be,” the four-time parliamentarian said. “Today’s Congress is living in denial.”
Scindia hit out at Congress, saying the aim of public service is not being fulfilled by them, ANI reported. “Farm loans that were supposed to be waived by the Congress government within a week of coming to power has not been fulfilled even after 18 months of the government,” he added.
However, the Kamal Nath government maintained that they have the numbers to remain in power. The government has a wafer-thin majority of just four above the majority mark of 116. If the resignations are accepted, the Congress will lose power.
In a bid to keep the lawmakers together, the Congress and the BJP have sent their MLAs to Jaipur and Gurugram respectively.
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