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Boost for Punjab BJP: HS Phoolka joins party, ends 7-year political hiatus
Former AAP MLA and 1984 anti-Sikh riots lawyer cites Punjab’s law and order ‘apathy’, drug crisis as primary drivers for political comeback.
In a boost for the Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and senior advocate HS Phoolka joined the saffron party in New Delhi on Wednesday afternoon, ending a seven-year hiatus from active politics.
Phoolka, 70, was formally inducted into the party at the BJP headquarters in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, working president Ashwani Sharma and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
Phoolka, a Padma Shri recipient renowned for his 40-year legal battle for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, said that the BJP has been a consistent supporter of his advocacy against Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. He cited Punjab’s worsening law and order, widespread extortion, and the drug crisis as his primary motivations, warning that the state’s land could turn barren within 14 years without urgent intervention.
Phoolka entered politics in 2014 with the AAP, contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Ludhiana. He later won the Dakha seat in the 2017 Punjab assembly elections and briefly served as the leader of opposition in the state. However, he stepped back from active political duties in 2017, resigning his post to ensure his legal work for the riot victims remained uncompromised. He eventually resigned as an MLA in 2018 and quit the AAP in early 2019 to focus entirely on judicial causes.
At one point, he even described his entry into politics as a mistake. Now, Phoolka clarifies that while his time with AAP was brief, his “close association” has always been with the BJP due to their shared history in the 1984 judicial commissions. He emphasised that he chose the BJP for his return because he views it as the only party capable of addressing the present administration’s “apathy” toward Punjab’s governance.
No election win for those abandoning voters: Punjab CM
Responding to the development, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said, “I can only congratulate and wish him good luck. He is my old party colleague. I was in Parliament, and he was in the state assembly.” The CM said though the AAP made Phoolka leader of opposition in the assembly, he stepped down and later resigned as MLA. “If someone is elected by the people and leaves midway through his term, it is not good for democracy. I have never seen such a person win ever again,” he added.
