SAD leader Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, brother join BJP
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal joined the BJP here on Sunday in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and other senior leaders of the party.
Atwal is the son of Charanjit Singh Atwal, who was the deputy speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009 and also served as the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly in the past.
Besides Atwal, his younger brother Jasjeet Singh Atwal and other leaders from Punjab joined the BJP at the party headquarters here.
“If at all anyone is implementing the ideas of Babasaheb Ambedkar in the 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,” Atwal, a former SAD vice-president, told reporters.
He also hailed Modi for reopening of the Kartarpur corridor for Sikhs and said the prime minister set a “historic milestone” with this step.
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 Atwal and the others into the party fold, Union Minister Puri said people have been joining the BJP due to Modi’s “new governance model”.
“Good governance is also good politics,” Puri said, asserting that the country has witnessed progress under Modi’s leadership.
