Former AAP Minister Raaj Kumar Anand joins BJP, had earlier criticised BJP buying MLAs
New Delhi: Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister Raaj Kumar Anand, along with Chhatarpur MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday. Several other AAP leaders, including city councillor Umed Singh Phogat and former AAP in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Ratnesh Gupta, also joined the BJP.
Anand had earlier in August 2022 questioned when will BJPs thirst for MLAs quench. He had also questioned as to for how long will BJP keep killing democracy like this.
His earlier tweet has now gone viral with netizens making fun of the hypocrisy shown by Anand.
And he joins BJP. pic.twitter.com/Ai5XEpQbDD
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) July 11, 2024
Following these departures, AAP now holds 60 seats in the 70-member Assembly, while the BJP's strength has decreased from eight to seven after Ramvir Singh Bidhuri's election from the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat. Anand was disqualified after quitting AAP on April 10.
Anand resigned from AAP citing alleged diversion of funds meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes towards other purposes. He also claimed that Dalits were not given adequate representation within the party. After leaving AAP, Anand joined the Bahujan Samaj Party and contested the general election from the New Delhi seat.
Welcoming the new members, BJP Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva stated, "Anand could not work for his community and people in the AAP government, which is why he decided to leave AAP and join BJP. We welcome his decision."
Anand explained his move, saying, "When I became a Minister, I felt that people were running around for their work, but the government did not care. Therefore, I resigned from my post."
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
