CHANDIGARH: With Assembly elections approaching in Haryana, international wrestler Babita Phogat and her father, Dronacharya awardee Mahavir Phogat, on whose family the Bollywood movie Dangal is based, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday.
Praising the NDA government for withdrawing the provisions of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, Mahavir Phogat said that he and his family were impressed by the policies and programmes of the Narendra Modi-led government.
He also praised Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for providing a transparent government in the state and giving jobs to youth in a fair manner.
Mahavir had joined the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) a few days before the Lok Sabha polls this year and was in charge of its sports cell. The Phogat family, which is from Balali village in Dadri, was expecting a ticket for Babita from Badhra or Dadri Assembly segments, which was not given.
The JJP was formed following a vertical split in the Indian National Lok Dal.
The saffron party is expecting that the Phogats joining the party will help it in the Assembly polls.
“I am a big fan of PM Modi, I have been his fan since 2014 and he has worked a lot for the country. I am very happy with joining the BJP and I think everyone would like to join the saffron party,’’ said the 29-year-old Babita.
When Babita Phogat was asked to comment on Khattar’s remark on brides coming from Kashmir after the amendment of Article 370, she said, “Khattar has not made any such statement that is offensive to our sisters and daughters. I urge the media not to misinterpret his statement.’’
The father and daughter duo joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Kiren Rijiju, Haryana in-charge Anil Jain and Haryana BJP president Subash Barala at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.