Voice not being heard: Churu MP Rahul Kaswan joins Congress after quitting BJP
Jaipur/New Delhi, Mar 11: Churu MP Rahul Kaswan on Monday resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress in the presence of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi.
After joining the Congress, Kaswan -- who was denied a ticket by the BJP to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, said he felt his "voice was not being heard" in the saffron party.
Kaswan's name was cleared by the Congress' central election committee as candidate from the Churu Lok Sabha constituency, sources said.
Kaswan is the second BJP MP in as many days to join the Congress. Brijendra Singh, the BJP's MP from Hisar, joined the party on Saturday.
Welcoming Kaswan into the Congress fold, Kharge said the party needs such people who have fought against power.
"I heartily welcome Rahul Kaswan ji on joining the Congress. I am happy that Rahul Kaswan ji, who fought against feudal people and have supported the farmers' issue, has joined the Congress," Kharge said.
"If people with such ideology keep joining the Congress, then the BJP will certainly be decimated. The BJP has always been intimidating people but we need people like Rahul Kaswan ji," he added.
The Congress chief also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speeches in different languages across the country and said he wants to have a "mastery" on everything but continues his habit of intimidating people.
Speaking to reporters after joining the Congress, Kaswan said, "My entire family was working with honesty and dedication in the region but a time came when I felt that my voice was not being heard (in the BJP)."
"I felt that I will suffocate if I cannot raise the issues of my farmer brothers," he added.
Welcoming Kaswan, the Congress' Rajasthan unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra said he took membership of the party in Delhi in the presence of Kharge.
"Undoubtedly Rahul Kaswan ji's spirit of farmer welfare and public service will lend strength to public issues and strengthen the party organisation," Dotasra said.
Earlier, announcing his decision to resign from the BJP and his Lok Sabha membership, Kaswan expressed gratitude to Modi and party leaders for giving him the opportunity to represent Churu twice as its MP.
"Due to political reasons, at this very moment today, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and from the post of Member of Parliament," Kaswan said in a post on X.
"I express my gratitude to BJP National President JP Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah, who gave me the opportunity to serve the Churu Lok Sabha family for 10 years, " he said.
The BJP has fielded Paralympic Games gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia from Churu.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, its Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tika Ram Jully were also present as Kaswan joined the party.
Kaswan's family is counted among the prominent political families of Rajasthan. He won the Churu Lok Sabha seat for two consecutive terms. His father Ram Singh Kaswan was a four-time MP and mother Kamla Kaswan was an MLA. His grandfather Deepchand Kaswan was a minister.
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Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link now fully operational
Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link was opened to vehicular traffic on Saturday noon after a delay caused by the dismantling of inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work, a day after the Pune section became operational.
The 13.3 km-long "missing link", which bypasses a section of the Bhor Ghat stretch of the expressway and cuts travel time between Mumbai and Pune by 25 to 30 minutes, was inaugurated a day earlier by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.
The Pune-bound carriageway of the corridor was opened to traffic immediately; however, the Mumbai-bound section remained closed to traffic for several hours after the inauguration.
An official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation told PTI on Saturday that the opening of the Mumbai-bound carriageway was delayed mainly due to the dismantling of the inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work.
The removal of the stage and other decorations was completed in the morning. The work to load and transport the material slightly delayed the opening of the carriageway.
Vehicular movement on the carriageway began after all the remaining material was cleared and road cleaning was completed, the official added.
The expressway control room said that despite significant vehicular movement, the access-controlled highway has not witnessed any major traffic snarls since Friday evening, after the Pune-bound carriageway of the missing link was opened to traffic.
The Missing Link project connects Khopoli (in Raigad) on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala in Pune district and is expected to make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the ghat section.
Developed by the MSRDC and dubbed an "engineering marvel", the project includes two tunnels, two viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley. It bypasses the steep, accident-prone ghat section, where frequent traffic snarls are reported during weekends and on public holidays.
