Actor Shekhar Suman, ex-Congress leader Radhika Khera join BJP

Radhika Khera, who served as the national coordinator of the Congress's media department, resigned from the grand old party's primary membership.

Updated on: May 7, 2024, 14:24:12 IST

By HT News Desk

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Former Congress leader Radhika Khera and Bollywood actor Shekhar Suman joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Actor Shekhar Suman, ex-Congress leader Radhika Khera join BJP. (PTI)

Also Read: Radhika Khera quits Cong days after alleging insult: ‘Went to see Ram Lalla’

Both Radhika Khera and Shekhar Suman joined the BJP in the presence of senior leaders, including party's national general secretary Vinod Tawde and national media department in-charge Anil Baluni.

Radhika Khera, who served as the national coordinator of the Congress's media department, resigned from the party's primary membership on Sunday after she alleged insult by the party leadership to women.

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Addressing the press conference, Radhika Khera claimed that she was able to “reach here only because of ‘Modi ki guarantee ki sarkar’ (Modi’s guaranteed government) in the state.” “Today’s Congress is different from Mahatma Gandhi’s Congress, it is anti-Ram and anti-Hindu,” she alleged.

Khera further claimed that she has been “regularly punished” in the party “for being a devotee of Ram”.

In her resignation letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Chhattisgarh Congress leader had mentioned the party's stand on Ram Mandir. "For every Hindu, Lord Ram holds a special place but some people oppose to it...In the party to which I gave more than 22 years of my life, I faced similar resistance as I could not stop myself from getting a darshan of Lord Ram," Khera wrote.

A few days ago, a video of Khera surfaced in which the former AICC spokesperson said she was resigning due to “insult” in the party. The video went viral, and it was reported that there was an argument between her and a senior office-bearer of the party. The BJP cashed in on the video and accused the Congress of disrespecting women leaders.

Also Read: Shekhar Suman joins BJP at party headquarters in Delhi amid Lok Sabha elections

Meanwhile, after joining the BJP, Shekhar Suman said, "Till yesterday, I did not know that I would be sitting here today because many things in life happen knowingly or unknowingly. I have come here with very positive thinking, and I would like to thank God that he ordered me to come here." He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and other BJP leaders.

Suman was recently seen portraying the character of Zulfiqar Ahmed in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.

(With inputs from agencies)

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