New Delhi: Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh who joined the BJP on Monday in New Delhi in the presence of Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Kiren Rijiju, BJP leader Sunil Jakhar and BJP Punjab chief Ashwani Sharma, said "it is now time to join a party that is looking after the interests of the country." He also spoke about the rising cross-border security threats in Punjab and said that he wants to protect the state as well as the country.
"Punjab is a border state, and I have seen our relations with Pakistan deteriorating...Drones are coming into our territory now to create complete chaos in Punjab. China is also not far from us. It's our duty to protect our state and the country," said Amarinder after shifting his loyalty towards BJP.
The 80-year-old veteran politician, who quit the Congress in November last year amid a bitter power tussle with then Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu, also merged his newly formed Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with the BJP.
Former Congress leader and deputy speaker of Punjab Assembly Ajaib Singh Bhatti also joined BJP. In all, seven former MLAs and one former MP joined the BJP along with Amarinder Singh.
Other office bearers and district presidents of the PLC will join the BJP in a separate event in Chandigarh next week.
Also Read: Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh Joins BJP, Merges His Newly Launched Party
Welcoming Singh to the BJP, Tomar said "Captain Sahab" had always kept the nation above all. "I am delighted to welcome him and his supporters in BJP family on behalf of millions of BJP workers," the minister said.
"We think that right thinking people of the country should be united. A sensitive state like Punjab should be handled carefully. During his tenure as CM, he never kept politics before national security," ANI quoted Union Minister Kiren Rijiju as saying.
Singh had formed the Punjab Lok Congress party last year just ahead of the Punjab assembly election. However, his party failed to win any seat in the polls, which was won by the Aam Aadmi Party. Singh himself lost from his home turf of Patiala Urban to AAP's greenhorn Ajit Pal Kohli by over 13,000 votes.