JAMMU After being expelled from the BJP recently for his anti-party activities, former MLA from RS Pura, Dr. Gagan Bhagat on Thursday joined the National Conference (NC).
The joining programme was held in the presence of NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah.
Bhagat, a doctor by profession, thanked the NC and said he would serve humanity and work for the uplift of the border residents, the poor and the downtrodden sections of the society.
He said he would work with dedication to strengthen the party at the grass-roots level.
Abdullah said Bhagat would strengthen communal harmony, brotherhood and the unity of the three regions of the state.
Bhagat, a former MLA from the R S Pura constituency of Jammu district, was expelled by the BJP on December 10, the day the Supreme Court dismissed his petition challenging the dissolution of the state assembly by Governor Satya Pal Malik, for”anti-party activities and indiscipline”.
Two days later, Bhagat came out in open against the state party leadership, accusing it of being anti-Dalit, following which the BJP issued a defamation notice to him for levelling “unfounded and abusive” allegations against state party president and state general secretary.
“I am a Dalit and faced victimization from the party which is 100 percent anti-Dalit… I was always given the position where my caste fits,” Bhagat had told reporters.
“People have given their mandate but got presidents rule, he said, referring to BJP pulling out of the coalition government which led to the fall of the PDP-led government in the state in June and subsequent imposition of governor’s rule.
Appreciating joining of Bhagat into the party, Abdullah exuded confidence that the people, especially those in political arena, would work towards maintaining the singular entity of Jammu and Kashmir which is under severe threat from “polarizing agents”.
Earlier senior Congress leader and former MLA Swaran Lata joined the NC. (With Inputs From PTI)
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