In another setback for the Congress party, Tajinder Singh Bittu officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party headquarters in Delhi on Saturday, accompanied by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and party general secretary Vinod Tawde.
Having tendered his resignation as AICC Secretary-in-Charge of Himachal Pradesh and relinquished his primary membership in the Congress party earlier in the day, Bittu’s move comes at a pivotal juncture amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. His defection marks yet another blow to the Congress, which has recently seen a series of prominent leaders leave its ranks.
Addressing the media after formalizing his entry into the BJP, Tajinder Singh Bittu expressed his belief that the Congress has strayed from its core issues. He refrained from making any disparaging remarks but cited his decision to join the BJP as a means to contribute to the betterment of Punjab. He stated to ANI, “I have spent almost 35 years in the Congress Party, and today I feel that the Congress Party has deviated from the issues. I do not want to speak against anyone. For the betterment of Punjab, I joined the BJP.”
Welcoming Bittu into the party fold, Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted the significant strides made under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, surpassing the achievements of the past 60 years under Congress rule. Vaishnaw remarked, “The amount of work done in the last 10 years is more than the work done in the past 60 years. PM Modi is presenting a new model of development in various sectors of every state. Whether its the railway sector, communication, highways, or textiles, in each sector transformation is visible. By seeing these transformations and developments, people have started feeling confident. I welcome Tajinder Singh Bittu ji to the party.”
During the press conference, Vinod Tawde criticized the Congress-led government in Karnataka regarding the tragic killing of Neha Hiremath, daughter of Congress Corporator Niranjan Hiremath. Tawde asserted, “Neha Hiremath’s father, who is the Corporator of the Congress party, alleged that it is a matter of ‘love jihad,’ but the Congress party says that it is a ‘love affair.’ No matter what the reason is, crime has happened. But the state government is not taking appropriate action in the matter. Their slogan means to protect the vote bank rather than the women of the state.”
Emphasizing that crime knows no religion, Tawde called for stringent action in the case. The twenty-four-year-old daughter of a Congress corporator was fatally stabbed on the college campus in Hubbali by a former friend and classmate named Fayaz, who has been arrested since. However, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attributed the incident to personal reasons, asserting that the state’s law and order situation remains robust. He stated, “Whatever murder happened is due to personal reasons. The law and order situation is very good in Karnataka, It is our duty to maintain law and order and we are doing it.”