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BJP Dalit leader joins Congress

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI NOV. 17. In a major setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi, the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, managed to pull off a major coup as a senior Balmiki leader and former BJP MLA, Swaroop Chand Rajan, along with a large number of office-bearers and workers joined the Congress accusing the BJP of ignoring the Dalits. "I have also resigned over the decision of the BJP leadership to field Poonam Azad from Gole Market and some adverse remarks made by her husband and MP, Kirti Azad, against the Balmiki community,'' he remarked.

Flanked by the Chief Minister, the AICC secretary, Anil Shastri, and a large number of supporters, Mr. Rajan was critical of the local BJP leaders for having denied the Balmiki samaj their due. In fact, his defection has been masterminded reportedly by the Delhi's Education Minister, Raj Kumar Chauhan, who was present on the occasion. He said that Mr. Azad had abandoned the Gole Market constituency following his defeat in the 1998 Assembly polls. When the talk of Ms. Azad getting a party ticket started doing rounds, workers led by him protested against such a move stating that it would lead to disaster. However, none listened to his protests and she was given the party ticket. "If the wife of a person who had made adverse remarks about the Balmiki community is given the ticket, then it certainly means that Dalits are not being given due respect in the party,'' he said. Referring to the bribe-taking incident involving the former BJP president, Bangaru Laxman, Mr. Rajan said that as Mr. Laxman was a Dalit, he was asked to go immediately from office, but the party defended the Union Minister of State for Forest and Environment, Dilip Singh Judev, when he was exposed in the same manner.

A member of the national executive of the BJP for the past 20 years, Mr. Rajan said a number of party workers including some office-bearers, Mukesh Gupta and Rajesh Rajput, had joined the Congress and would work for the success of the Chief Minister in Gole Market. He stated that they would work for the Congress candidates across the Capital, especially in the Balmiki dominated constituencies.

The Chief Minister said the real face of the BJP had once again been exposed by the latest bribe-taking incident involving Mr. Judev. The Vajpayee Government has nothing but scams and misadventures to its credit. She said that a large number of party workers had been deserting the BJP and joining Congress during the last one week in Gole Market and other parts of Delhi. "It seems Mr. Khurana is next in the line,'' she remarked jokingly when asked when the BJP leader was joining her party.

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