Congress MP quits party, to join BJP tomorrow

New Delhi, Feb 12: Congress MP from Haryana Rao Inderjit Singh, who had demanded a probe into land deals of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, today ended 35-year association with the party as he resigned to join BJP tomorrow.

Singh, a Minister in UPA-I government and a known bete noire of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said he quit Congress as the party's ideology had "changed" and policies were being made keeping "personal interests" in view.

The 63-year-old Lok Sabha member from Gurgaon, said he would join BJP as there "is a similarity" of views between him and that party. "I have been associated with Congress for long. But now its ideology is not the same as it used to be," he told PTI after sending his resignation letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The three-time MP, who has been a legislator for four terms in Haryana, said Congress earlier used to keep the interests of the poor and oppressed class in mind.

"But now, policies in Congress are made keeping personal interests in mind," he charged. Son of late Union Minister Rao Birendra Singh, he had stirred a controversy in September last year when he demanded a fair probe into the land deals of Vadra in his affluent Gurgaon constituency and be given punishment if he was guilty.

"I feel the administration has not functioned the way it ought to have.... I'm not in the business of prosecuting Robert Vadra.... if anybody has made money illegally, they should all be held accountable and if that includes Robert Vadra, he should be held accountable as well," he had said.

Looking forward to working with Narendra Modi, Inderjit Singh said the BJP leader was capable of providing the much-needed stability to the country and address the problems like price rise and poverty.

PTI