Ludhiana : Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) chief and two-time former MLA from Ludhiana’s Atam Nagar Simarjeet Singh Bains, along with his elder brother Balwinder Singh Bains, also a two-time ex-MLA from Ludhiana South, joined the Congress in the presence of senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Sunday.
Popularly known as Bais brothers, they merged their party with the Congress. Punjab Congress in-charge Devendra Yadav was also present.
With the induction of Simarjeet, the Congress has given fuel to the opposition parties to target it as the former MLA is facing rape charges.
Senior advocate and former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Harish Rai Dhanda, who is the counsel for the woman who lodged an FIR against Simarjeet, said: “The Congress has fallen to a new low as they needed the support of a man who is facing trial in such heinous crime. Even the BJP, who is blindly making their rivals join the party, had rejected Bains.”
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Ludhiana, Simarjeet, polled around 3.07 lakh votes, securing the second spot after Congress’ Ravneet Singh Bittu who got 3.83 lakh votes.
The Bains brothers said they joined the Congress unconditionally and assured that they would ensure the party’s victory not only in Ludhiana but in other constituencies of the state.
{{/usCountry}}The Bains brothers said they joined the Congress unconditionally and assured that they would ensure the party’s victory not only in Ludhiana but in other constituencies of the state.
{{/usCountry}}Balwinder Bains is also member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC).
Simarjeet was booked in a rape case in July 2021 following the complaint of a 44-year-old woman. He was eventually arrested in July 2022 and was released on bail after almost six months. He had maintained that the rape case against him was a political vendetta.
In the 2023 Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, Bains brothers had supported BJP candidate Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal. However, AAP’s Sushil Kumar Rinku (now in BJP) won the polls.
Reacting to the development BJP candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu said: “I request the women of Ludhiana who are invited to Congress meetings to question Amrita Warring ji: Will an accused booked under Section 376 of IPC who has just joined the Congress also be part of the public gathering? If yes, Will you ensure the safety of women of Ludhiana? Shameful act by the Congress high command on Mother’s Day!” he posted on ‘X’.