Former Army chief and prominent Anna Hazare team member General (retd)V K Singh formally joined the BJP on Saturday saying it is the only nationalist party in the country which could give a stable government at the Centre.
“I saw only the BJP as a nationalist party. Who have served on borders should work with nationalist forces. So, we have decided to move with the BJP to bring a government which is stable, strong and takes decisions in national interest,” Singh said.
Raising the pitch for the ex-servicemen and the Armed Forces, Rajnath said it was his party that had first raised the issue of ‘one rank one pension’ way back in 2009. Now that the UPA has cleared it, the NDA Government would implement it.
The BJP chief also attacked the government over ceasefire violations by Pakistan, including beheading of two Indian soldiers, and intrusions by China.
Earlier, the former Army chief had shared stage with BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi during a rally of ex-servicemen in Haryana last year.
The BJP is likely to field Singh, who belongs to politically important Thakur caste, from Haryana or Rajasthan in the next Lok Sabha elections.
General Singh, who joined the party along with a number of ex-servicemen, is one among several high profile entrants to the saffron party ahead of the 2014 elections.
Earlier, former Mumbai police commission S P Singh, former Home Secretary R K Singh, and diplomat Hardeep Puri had joined the BJP.
Rakhi’s BJP Debut?
Apart from former Army chief, Bollywood actress Rakhi Sawant too expressed her desire to join the BJP as she landed up at Rajnath Singh’s house. Rajnath said emotions of people towards Armed Force personnel was such that Rakhi Sawant came on her own to the BJP headquarters with a wish to tie a ‘rakhi’ to soldiers.