Former minister Raaj Kumar Anand, ex-AAP MLAs join BJP; slam CM Kejriwal

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Former BSP leader Raaj Kumar Anand, who was the Social Welfare Minister in the AAP government before joining Mayawati’s party in May, on Wednesday joined the BJP.

Raaj Kumar Anand joined the BJP in the presence of its Delhi President, Virendra Sachdeva, and National General Secretary, Arun Singh.

He joined the BJP along with his wife Veena, a former AAP MLA, and three other AAP leaders, including MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar, AAP councillor Umed Singh Phogat, and AAP leader Ratnesh Gupta.

After joining the BJP, Raaj Kumar Anand accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of "cheating and deceiving" Dalits.

He alleged that during his tenure as a minister in the CM Kejriwal government, "no substantial work was done for the Dalit community."

"When issues related to Dalit interests were raised with the Chief Minister, they were dismissed because Arvind Kejriwal was not interested in working for the community," he alleged.

Raaj Kumar Anand further claimed there was a scam in the Dalit Welfare Fund, which led to his resignation from the ministerial post.

He also noted that despite forming governments in Delhi and Punjab on the back of Dalit support, CM Kejriwal did not appoint a single Dalit as a Rajya Sabha MP.

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP National President JP Nadda, he said it was a "matter of pride" for him to join the world's largest party and pledged to work towards "connecting PM Modi's vision directly with the people of Delhi."

Raaj Kumar Anand, a former MLA from Patel Nagar, resigned from the AAP in April and joined the BSP in May this year.

Chhatarpur MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar, after joining the BJP, accused CM Kejriwal of "dictatorship" and claimed that those who came to power promising to fight corruption were now engaging in corrupt practices themselves.

"They have turned Delhi into hell and broken the trust and faith of the people of the national Capital," he claimed, accusing CM Kejriwal of "cheating and deceiving the people of Delhi."

The Chhatarpur MLA pledged to work with the BJP with "full dedication."

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