In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first Cabinet, Singh served as the Union minister of steel and was also in charge of Panchayati Raj and rural development. On Tuesday, former BJP leader and Union minister Chaudhary Birender Singh and his ex-MLA wife Prem Lata joined the Congress, a move he described as both a “ghar wapsi” (homecoming) and a “vaicharik wapsi” (ideological return).
MPs Mukul Wasnik and Randeep Surjewala welcomed them into the Congress, as did prominent figures Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Udai Bhan, and Pawan Khera.
Birender remarked, “Everyone should live up to their practical values and dignity and should stop this type of politics,” criticizing the “politics of speaking ill and appeasing seniors.”
After 52 years in politics, Singh claimed that the “country must rise to save parliamentary democracy” and that he can sense the shifting views of the electorate.
“Birender Singh possesses an extensive political background with the Congress, having served as an MLA and MP multiple times until his departure in 2014.” The return of Singh, according to Wasnik, will “fortify the party on a national level” and in Haryana, where there has been a “state of chaos” for a few years, She said.
In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first Cabinet, Singh served as the Union minister of steel and was also in charge of Panchayati Raj and rural development.
Brijendra Singh, their son and a former leader of the BJP, has joined the Congress as well.