BJP leaders join Congress

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 14

Former Bhimtal BJP MLA Daan Singh Bhandari and senior woman leader of the party, Geeta Thakur, who recently defected to the Congress, joined the party formally at a function at state Congress headquarters in Dehradun today.

Bhandari had tendered his resignation from the state Assembly a day before the Rajya Sabha poll, announcing his support for the Congress. Similarly, Geeta Thakur, a BJP backed independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat, later withdrew her candidature in favour of BJP candidate Anil Goyal, where the victory of Congress candidate Pradeep Tamta was a foregone conclusion.

Shortly after that, Geeta resigned from the BJP terming it an anti-Dalit party.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat welcomed the leaders into the party fold and said the BJP was desperate to get to power and that was the reason behind the saffron party supporting defections in the Congress and then imposing President’s rule in the state. He said the state was yet to get its Budget from the Centre.

State Congress president Kishore Upadhyay said Daan Singh Bhandari and Geeta Thakur would get adequate honour in the Congress. He said the BJP stood exposed in the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict as it unsuccessfully tried to dislodged the Congress governments in Uttarakhand as well as Arunachal Pradesh.

Bhandari and Thakur said they would campaign against the BJP. Geeta Thakur said she was forced to withdraw her candidature in favour of the BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat by senior BJP leaders for which poll was held recently. Daan Singh Bhandari also accused the BJP of continuously ignoring him. He said the state was witnessing speedy progress under the leadership of Chief Minister Harish Rawat.