Congress leader and former MLA Ashwani Sekhri on Sunday said he will join the BJP and alleged that several senior leaders were feeling suffocated in the Punjab Congress.
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Sekhri stated this after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
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Sekhri was the MLA from the Batala assembly seat thrice in 1985, 2002, and 2012, and a minister in the Amarinder Singh government from 2002-2007.
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He said that during his meeting with Shah, he took up the issue of the backwardness of six Punjab districts -- Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka, and Pathankot.
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"I met Amit Shah ji and he welcomed me," Sekhri said, adding he will join the BJP.
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Sekhri slammed the Punjab unit of the Congress, alleging that a "gang" was operating there and was taking decisions without consulting other senior leaders.
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"There is such an atmosphere there that many senior leaders are feeling suffocated," he alleged.
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In a joint statement, Punjab Congress leaders asked the party's high command to expel Sekhri for "anti-party" activities and remarks against its leaders.
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MLAs Tripat Singh Bajwa and Barindermeet Singh Pahra, former minister Brahm Mohindra, Deputy Leader of Opposition Raj Kumar Chabbewal, and working president of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Bharat Bhushan Ashu were among those who sought action against Sekhri.
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Ashu said the Congress appointed Sekhri to the highest positions but he backstabbed the party.
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He was the AICC secretary in charge of Gujarat from 1985 to 2022, Ashu said.
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Such disloyal leaders must not be given a second chance to do damage to the party, he added.
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Chabbewal said Sekhri's recent activities have been nothing short of "sabotage".
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He said Sekhri was given several chances but he has been working against the party in Gujarat and elsewhere.
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His expulsion is long overdue and it is high time that the high command takes the necessary step to ensure that he is no longer able to damage the party, Chabbewal added.