Congress leader Jitin Prasada joins BJP
New Delhi: Congress leader Jitin Prasada joined the BJP on Wednesday, in a shot in the arm for the saffron party as it prepares for assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh scheduled for early next year.
He joined the BJP in presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal and its chief spokesperson Anil Baluni.
The 47-year-old Prasada, a former Union minister, comes from a well known Brahmin family of Uttar Pradesh and was serving as the Congress leader in-charge of West Bengal before joining the BJP.
His father Jitendra Prasada was a noted Congress leader.
With the Congress in dire straits in Uttar Pradesh and he himself losing the Lok Sabha polls twice in a row, Prasada's decision to join the BJP may help him politically at a time when the saffron party is working overtime to boost its ranks in preparation for the assembly polls.
It will also help the BJP keep Brahmins, a section of whom are said to be unhappy with the party in Uttar Pradesh, in good humour in the politically important state of India, party sources said.
Speculation was rife even during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections of Prasada joining the BJP, but it is believed that the Congress leadership had then managed to persuade him against quitting the party.
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Man launches attack with iron rod inside Golden Temple in Amritsar, injures 5
Amritsar, Mar 14 (PTI): A man wielding an iron rod went on an indiscriminate rampage on Friday here at Golden Temple, injuring two 'sewadars' and three devotees, police said.
The man was seen moving in the Guru Ramdas Niwas, also called Guru Ramdas Sarai, of the Golden Temple.
According to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Secretary Partap Singh, the man turned violent when asked about his antecedents and attacked the SGPC employees and the others.
Police said the man hailed from Haryana and was handed over to them by the SGPC after the incident.
The reason behind the attack is under investigation.
The three injured devotees had come to the temple from Mohali, Bathinda and Patiala, while the other two were 'sewadars' of Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), Partap Singh said.
One 'sewadar' and a devotee from Bathinda suffered severe head injuries.
The injured were rushed to Sri Guru Ramdas Hospital at Vallah in a critical condition.
Partap Singh said the attacker and an accomplice of his were apprehended and handed over to the police.
In his appeal to the government and law enforcement agencies, the SGPC Secretary called for no leniency in taking action against the perpetrators.
