NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, senior Congress leader and MLA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi on Tuesday joined the BJP.
Before joining the BJP here, Sodhi resigned from all the posts and primary membership of the Congress.
He joined the saffron party in the presence of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Som Prakash. BJP national general secretary and Punjab in-charge Dushyant Gautam, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Sanjay mayukh were also present on the occasion.
Welcoming Sodhi in the party, Yadav said that he has a special place in the sports, social and political life of Punjab. "Four-time MLA since 2002 Sodhi will strengthen the party in Punjab," Yadav said.
Sodhi was the sports minister in the Punjab government led by Captain Amarinder Singh.
Shekhawat said, "Sodhi joins BJP to serve Punjab under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his long political career, he held important positions in the Congress party. Currently, he was vice president of the Punjab Congress and he joined after resigning from all the posts in the Congress party. He will help us to achieve the target set by Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief J.P. Nadda to build 'ek Naya Punjab, BJP ke Sath' (a new Punjab with BJP)."
After joining the BJP, Sodhi said that he took the decision in the best of Punjab's interest. "Punjab is a border state. Peace and harmony is in danger and the state government is not capable of handling it. Punjab is a small, but the important state of India. Only the Prime Minister can save Punjab," Sodhi said.
Sodhi further stated that the secular image of the Congress party was demolished due to infighting in the Punjab unit and the state moving towards a bigger threat.
In his letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Sodhi said he was "deeply hurt by the bickering and in-fighting within the Punjab Congress".
"This is harming the party as well as causing "serious problems" for the state and the government," he said.
"I feel suffocated and helpless in the present situation especially when the party has put state's security and communal harmony at stake. Rather than taking action to restore peace in Punjab, senior Congress leadership is hell-bent on destroying the border state for their personal gains," he wrote.
"Agonised with the current state of affairs, I put my resignation from all posts and primary membership of the Congress party with immediate effect," said Sodhi.
Sodhi said he had been in the Congress for the last more than four decades.
"I had been hand-picked by our illustrious leader late Shri Rajiv Gandhi ji to contest my first election to the Punjab state assembly from Guruharsahai assembly constituency in district Ferozepur in 1985," he said.
Stating that he had been a hardcore worker of the party with unflinching loyalty through thick and thin, he said he contested and won assembly polls from Guruharsahai four times from 2002 till date.
Sodhi was dropped as the minister after Charanjit Singh Channi took over as the chief minister.
"Congress neither is concerned for the farmers nor for peace and harmony. Prime Minister Modi has solved the farmers' issues and will solve others also," Sodhi added.