Ex-Union minister Birender Singh, wife Prem Lata join Congress
New Delhi (PTI): Former Union minister Birender Singh and his ex-MLA wife Prem Lata joined the Congress on Tuesday, a decade after quitting the party.
Their joining comes a month after their son Brijendra Singh, an outgoing MP from Hisar, joined the Congress after quitting the BJP.
Birender Singh (78) is the maternal grandson of farmer leader Sir Chhotu Ram and had quit the Congress in 2014 to join the BJP.
He was Union minister for steel in the first government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also held the charge of rural development, panchayati raj, and drinking water and sanitation.
On his return to the Congress, Birender Singh said, "It is not just my 'ghar wapsi' but also 'vichar wapsi'."
"It is the return of my ideology. If we have to save democracy, we have to rise and speak up against the government," he said.
"The mood is changing in the country and it is because of the wrong policies of the government," he said.
He said he had met Sonia Gandhi the day he left the Congress and said for some reason he had to quit the Congress.
"I have done politics by annoying my superiors in the party," he admitted.
"I tried to resolve the farmer issues during their agitation. What has the farmer or the poor got even 33 years after economic reforms. Farmers have not got justice yet.
"But, the BJP is far from reality and one should not expect anything from the BJP. They shed artificial tears for the poor and do not mean anything for them," Singh alleged.
He said five hours before he was inducted into the cabinet, the prime minister met me, and "I told him that I am not one of those who would badmouth leaders and the party I have left behind."
Welcoming Birender Singh and Prem Lata into the Congress, party leader Mukul Wasnik said, "With their joining, I am sure the Congress will be strengthened in Haryana and help form the Congress government in the state."
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, "With his (Birender Singh) rejoining, he has proved the age-old saying, 'East or West, Home is the best'. He is my elder brother and I am very happy about his return to the Congress fold."
"We need to increase our strength by displaying unity and only then will we be able to save democracy and the Constitution," Hooda said.
AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala said, "This is an emotional moment for me and I welcome him into the party fold."
Other Congress leaders, including Kumari Selja, Haryana party chief Uday Bhan, former Haryana Assembly speaker Kiran Chaudhary, former Punjab deputy chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, and AICC OBC Cell head Capt Ajay Singh, Naseer Hussain and Pawan Khera were also present on the occasion.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Shameful, condemnable': Rahul slams police action against protesting BPSC candidates in Patna
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Thursday condemned the police action on protesting Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) candidates in Patna and claimed that the NDA government is "resorting to lathi-charging students" to hide its own failures.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also slammed the BJP over the police action, saying the ruling party's only vision is to save its chair and whoever demands employment is oppressed.
In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul Gandhi said, "I had said in Parliament that in the same way that Eklavya's thumb was cut off, the thumbs of the youth were being chopped off by paper leaks."
"The latest example of this is Bihar. BPSC candidates are raising their voice against the paper leak and demanding cancellation of the exam. But to hide its failure, the NDA government is instead resorting to lathi-charge on the students," the former Congress chief said.
"This is extremely shameful and condemnable. Playing with the future of students will not be tolerated. We are with them and will fight to get them justice," he said.
Chaos erupted during a protest in Patna on Wednesday over the alleged leak of a question paper of the December 13 combined preliminary exam conducted by BPSC, prompting the police to baton charge job aspirants.
Job seekers claimed that several protesters were injured during the police action but a senior officer denied the charge.
"Lathi charge on youths who had their hands folded is the height of cruelty. In BJP rule, youths demanding employment are beaten with sticks. Be it UP, Bihar or Madhya Pradesh - if youths raise their voice, they are brutally beaten," Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on her WhatsApp channel.
"It is the government's job to think about the future of the youth of the world's youngest country and make policies for it. But the BJP only has the vision of saving its chair," she said.
Whoever demands employment is oppressed, the Congress MP added.
The Congress had condemned the police action on job aspirants, while Independent MP from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav called for a Bihar bandh on January 1, 2025, if the December 13 combined preliminary examination is not cancelled.
The police registered a case against protestors in connection with Wednesday's incident. The protesters claimed that several job seekers were injured in the baton charge, which the police denied.
Video clips of the police action against job aspirants went viral on social media with some showing personnel chasing and beating up protesters, including women.
PTI could not verify the authenticity of the video clips.
Protesters were seen raising slogans against the BPSC officials and demanding the cancellation of the December 13 combined preliminary exam.
The job aspirants have been demanding the cancellation of the preliminary examination of the BPSC and have requested the commission to announce a fresh date for the test at the earliest.
