The Hindu : New Delhi News : BJP legislator joins Congress

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Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008
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New Delhi

BJP legislator joins Congress

Staff Reporter

Chandila is the second MLA after Bidhuri to join the party within a week

Photo: S. Subramanium

CROSSING OVER: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and DPCC president J.P. Agarwal with BJP MLA Dayanand Chandila who joined the Congress along with his son and daughter-in-law, who are municipal councillors, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: After resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Delhi MLA Dayanand Chandila on Tuesday joined the Congress along with his son Meghraj Chandila and daughter-in-law Meenakshi Chandila, who are both municipal councillors, in the presence of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president J. P. Agarwal and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Mr. Chandila is the second MLA after Ramvir Singh Bidhuri of the Nationalist Congress Party to have joined the Congress within a week.

Mr. Chandila’s switching to the Congress was on expected lines as he had fallen out with the BJP by 2007 itself when he had successfully fielded his son and daughter for the Municipal elections on Jharkhand Mukti Morcha tickets.

“Setback to BJP”

Welcoming the Chandilas and their supporters into the party, Mr. Agarwal said their joining the Congress was a setback to the BJP which had been promoting communalism and casteism and adopting a divide-and-rule policy. He said the entire Congress would work unitedly and defeat the forces of communalism in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

Mr. Chandila said he had parted ways with the BJP as it had strayed away from its principles and taken to propagating casteism and communalism.

Only the Congress under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi could save the country in these tough times, he added.

Having represented Vishnu Garden, Mr. Chandila resigned from the BJP and the Delhi Assembly on September 12.

Before announcing his resignation in the Assembly, Mr. Chandila lavishly praised the Congress for the work being done for regularisation of unauthorised colonies.

He had also criticised the BJP for working against regularisation.

Ms. Dikshit said the coming of the Chandilas into the Congress would strengthen the party.

The Chief Minister said Mr. Chandila had earlier also supported the Congress as he believed in its programmes and policies.

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