Khattar’s nephew Ramit joins Congress, returns to saffron party within hours

Ramit Khattar, a nephew of former Haryana Chief Minister and at present Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar, who had joined the Congress yesterday and returned to the BJP fold within a few hours.

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Ramit joined the Congress in the presence of Rohtak MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra around noon on Thursday. However, by the same evening, he joined the BJP in presence of Batra’s rival and BJP candidate Manish Grover at a public meeting.

However, he did not explain or elaborate on his switch-over to the Congress and subsequent ‘ghar-wapsi’ to the BJP.

“He (Batra) put a piece of cloth on my shoulder. Photographs were clicked and circulated. I am with the BJP, with Manohar Lal ji,” Ramit told the reporters present at the BJP meeting.

Asked about Batra’s statement regarding his joining the Congress, Ramit remarked that it was inappropriate.

“Look, I am here before you,” said Ramit as he gestured to touch Grover’s feet while standing on the dais.

As per sources, Ramit approached Rohtak MLA and Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Batra through a local leader of the party, after which he was inducted into the Congress.

He joined the Congress MLA during a door-to-door campaign yesterday. After that, he stayed with Batra’s supporter Advocate Lokinder Singh Phogat, alias Jojo, a former president of the District Bar Association, for a couple of hours. “I did not know Ramit before yesterday. He approached me through a local leader, who introduced Ramit to me and told me that he (Ramit) wanted to join the Congress. I asked him whether he was sure and wouldn’t retract, to which he replied positively. Following that, I publicly welcomed him to the Congress,” Batra told The Tribune.

The MLA revealed that while Ramit was with them, he was getting calls from his uncle and Union minister Khattar.

“However, Ramit did not take the Union minister’s calls. But later in the day, we were told that he joined the BJP,” said Batra.