Akali Dal's Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, Other Punjab Leaders Join BJP

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal joined the BJP on Sunday in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and other senior leaders of the party.

Mr Atwal, who quit the SAD to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is the son of Charanjit Singh Atwal, who was the deputy speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009 and who also served as the speaker of the Punjab Assembly in the past.

Along with Mr Atwal, his younger brother Jasjeet Singh Atwal and other leaders from Punjab also joined the BJP at the party headquarters.

"If at all anyone is implementing the ideas of Babasaheb Ambedkar in a real sense, it is the government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I am joining the BJP after being impressed by the work done by its government at the Centre through various schemes," Mr Atwal, a former SAD vice-president, told reporters.

He also hailed PM Modi for reopening the Kartarpur corridor for Sikhs and said the prime minister set a "historic milestone" with this step.

Mr Atwal said there is a need to herald "a new era" of development in Punjab, taking along all sections of the society, including Dalits.

"We will work day and night to strengthen the BJP in Punjab under the guidance of the party leadership. We will take along the entire Sikh society as well as people belonging to every religion and community to lead Punjab onto the path of progress," he added.

Welcoming Mr Atwal and the others into the party-fold, Mr Puri said people have been joining the BJP due to Modi's "new governance model".

"Good governance is also good politics," the Union minister said, asserting that the country has witnessed progress under Modi's leadership.

He recalled the contributions of Charanjit Singh Atwal to the country's polity and said the BJP will be strengthened with his sons joining it.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)