Najma Heptulla joins BJP
NEW DELHI, June 11 (UNI) Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptulla today joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after resigning from the Congress with which she has been associated for almost four decades.
Dr Heptulla went to BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu's residence this morning and completed the formality to become a primary member, party vice president and spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told newspersons.
Dr Heptulla was nominated as the BJP nominee for Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan yesterday.
In reply to a question, Naqvi said Dr Heptulla had resigned from the Congress before the BJP's Central Election Committee considered her name for nomination to the Rajya Sabha.
"Dr Heptulla had infact wanted to join the party yesterday but due to paucity of time she could not join," he said.
When pointed out that Dr Heptulla has been a member of the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra and the party had fielded her from Rajasthan even as the case about the domicile of a person to become a RS member was pending in the Supreme Court, Naqvi said the decision had been taken keeping in view all legalities.
Regarding industrialist Lalit Suri's nomination, he said Suri had been a member of the NDA and also that of the BJP and therefore did not require a fresh membership.
The BJP spokesman also justified the party's decision to give Rajya Sabha ticket to former human resource development minister M M Joshi and for external affairs minister yashwant sinha, saying they were senior members of the party and the decision had been taken keeping in view of their competence and experience and the party's needs.
Similarly, he also justified the nomination of Dilip Singh Judev, who had to resign from the Vajpayee ministry following allegations of corruption, Naqvi said there were merely allegations.
There was no chargesheet against Judev till now.
He said it was wrong to equate Judev with the 'tainted ministers' in the Manmohan Singh ministry.
Naqvi said all the decisions by the central election committee were taken at the recommendations of the state election committees.
About us | Advertise | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Weather | Letters | Send Mail Disclaimer: Information is being made available at this site purely as a measure of public facilitation.
While every effort has been made to ensure that the information hosted on this website is accurate CHAIRMAN: VED BHASIN Kashmir Times Group of Publications Edited, printed and published by Prabodh Jamwal Editor-in-Chief, The Kashmir Times, Residency Road, Jammu, J&K, INDIA.
Executive Editor: Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal E-Mail: vbhasin@sancharnet.in, jmt_prabodh@sancharnet.in