Have Been Offered Ministerial Berth As Punjab's Progress Is NDA Govt's 'Priority': Ravneet Bittu

BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu on Sunday said Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi has picked him to induct him into his council of ministers despite his defeat from Ludhiana in the Lok Sabha polls as Punjab's progress is the "priority" of the BJP-led NDA government.

Bittu, a three-term former Congress MP from Punjab, had joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. He contested on the BJP ticket seeking his re-election from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat but lost to Congress' Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

Speaking to PTI, the BJP leader said that he had quit the Congress because he wanted Punjab to get representation in the Union government. "I didn't want to sit in the opposition benches for the fourth time," Bittu said.

"The BJP fulfilled my dream and said Punjab is on the priority whether we win (in election) or not, and gave me a ministerial berth even though I was not elected. Its because Punjab is on the NDA government's priority," he told PTI.

Bittu said the BJP wants to see Punjab happy and free the state from debt and drugs. "The BJP and the NDA government want to bring Punjab back on the right track," he added.