New Delhi: Kailash Gahlot, former Delhi minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, a day after quitting Arvind Kejriwal-led party. Gahlot joined the BJP at party headquarters in the presence of senior BJP leaders including Manohar Lal Khattar, Jay Panda, Anil Baluni, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva and more.
Gahlot, AAP’s Jat face in the capital and MLA from Najafgarh constituency twice, was a minister in the AAP government since 2017 and held charge of key portfolios including home, transport, IT and women and child development.
After resigning from AAP and the ministerial post he issued a letter addressing party convenor Arvind Kejriwal saying there were many embarrassing and strange controversies like the new bungalow making everyone doubt whether "we still believe in being a common man".
"It is clear that if the Delhi government spends most of its time fighting the Center, there cannot be real progress for Delhi. I have no option left but to separate from AAP and hence I am resigning from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party," the letter read.
Accusing AAP of indulging in a self-political agenda, he said, "Another painful thing is that instead of fighting for the rights of the people, we are fighting only for our political agenda, due to which there is difficulty in providing even basic services to the people of Delhi. I started my political journey with a commitment to serve the people of Delhi and I want to continue doing so. That is why I have no option left to separate from any party and hence I am resigning from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party".
#WATCH | Delhi: After joining BJP, Kailash Gahlot says " some people must be thinking that this decision was taken overnight and under someone's pressure. i want to tell them that i have never done anything under anyone's pressure till date...i am hearing that an attempt is being… pic.twitter.com/ZrRqO3ehJU
— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024
Earlier on July 10 former Delhi minister and MLA from Patel Nagar, Rajkumar Anand, joined the BJP along with AAP sitting MLAs Kartar Singh Tanwar, Ratnesh Gupta, Sachin Rai, former MLA Veena Anand and AAP councillor Umed Singh Phogat.
The departments held by Gehlot will remain with the Delhi chief minister Atishi. A statement from the Delhi CMO said Gehlot was in charge of transport, administrative reforms, information and technology, home, women and child development.
After joining BJP, Kailash Gahlot said, "Some people must be thinking that this decision was taken overnight and under someone's pressure. I want to tell them that I have never done anything under anyone's pressure till date...I am hearing that an attempt is being made to build a narrative that it was done under the pressure of ED and CBI but all this is wrong..."
Meanwhile, AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh claimed that Gehlot had to take this step because the BJP accused him of embezzling Rs 112 crore and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his house several times in the last few days. His resignation is part of BJP's dirty politics and conspiracy.
"The BJP government conducted ED raids on him. IT raids were conducted at his residence for several days. The BJP accused him of Rs 112 crore. Pressure was put on him due to which he had to take this step. He had no option but to join the BJP," Singh said.
Singh said earlier on Sunday, Gehlot resigned from the AAP citing deep concerns over the party's direction and internal challenges, saying that political ambitions within the party have overtaken its core commitment to serve the people.
Gehlot's resignation has been accepted by Atishi, which comes ahead of the assembly elections in the national capital in 2025. Significantly, Gehlot, in his resignation letter, criticised the party's shift in focus from advocating for people's rights to pushing its political agenda. He said this shift has hampered AAP's ability to provide basic services to Delhi residents.
Atishi highlighted the unfulfilled promise of cleaning the Yamuna, which is more polluted than ever, and expressed concern over controversies such as the 'Sheeshmahal' issue, which she said has raised questions about whether the AAP still upholds its commitment to being the party of the "aam aadmi".
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