Uttar Pradesh: Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi joins BJP, lauds Narendra Modi for surgical strikes

LUCKNOW:  BJPs aim to capture power in Uttar Pradesh today received a shot in the arm with former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi joining it in the presence of party President Amit Shah. After joining BJP, Joshi, daughter of former Chief Minister late Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, criticised Congress for its reaction on surgical strikes and said developments in recent past have left her numb. She also praised Narendra Modi led BJP government for the cross-border anti-terro raid. "When the entire world has accepted that we carried out Surgical Strikes, I didn’t like it when Congress other parties questioned it," she said. Bahuguna also hits out at Rahul Gandhi for 'Khoon ki dalali" remarks and for demanding proof of surgical strikes. "Served Cong for 24 yrs but I feel it has lost reputation; Rahul Gandhi's leadership is not acceptable to people," she said. 67-year-old Bahuguna was said to be unhappy with the Congress leadership over projection of Sheila Dikshit as the party's chief ministerial face and feels increasingly marginalised since Raj Babbar was made the UP party chief. She believes she had better credentials to be projected as a Brahmin chief ministerial face than Dikshit. She also faces a tough electoral prospect as Congress candidate in the coming state elections. Rita had got embroiled in a major controversy in 2009 when she urged some Dalit rape victims not to accept the Rs 1-crore compensation offered by Mayawati, who was chief minister then. Rita had apparently first tapped the ruling Samajwadi Party to see if she could go back to the party on the "promise" of a berth in the legislative council. When there was no response, she tapped the BJP. Bahuguna's brother and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had joined the BJP a few months back. Her joining the BJP will be a shot in its arm as it will help the saffron party consolidate Brahmin votes, eyeing which the Congress had declared Diskhit as its chief ministerial pick. (With PTI inputs)