Former Minister of Finance of Punjab Manpreet Singh Badal joined the BJP on Wednesday after resigning from the Congress Party.

Badal joined the party at the BJP headquarters in the presence of various leaders, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal. He tendered his resignation from primary membership of the Indian National Congress to leader Rahul Gandhi through a letter wherein he said he was "disillusioned" by the party.

Badal claims that when he took on the role of finance minister for the state of Punjab, he inherited an exchequer that was "in shambles" and "truly on the bring of total collapse." He wrote that he had to make difficult decisions to adhere to fiscal discipline. This, however, was apparently not looked at favorably by his former party.

The former minister had presented the Punjab Budget nine times.

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"I do not believe I am exaggerating in saying that I almost single-handedly succeeded in garnering an additional Rs 50,000 crores for the state exchequer, which would no ordinarily have been acquired. However, far from being acknowledged or appreciated for my efforts, I was vilified in the Punjab Congress for failing to display what can only be described as fiscal recklessness," Badal wrote.

Badal justified his departure from the Congress party due to its "prevalent culture."

"Regretfully, given the prevalent culture within the party and the defiant desire in the present course, I no longer wish to be a part of the Indian National Congress," he said.

Badal, who served as the finance minister in the previous Congress government, said, ”Seven years ago, I merged the People’s Party of Punjab with your party. I did so with immense hope and an expectation of being integrated into an organisation with a rich history that would allow me to serve both the people of Punjab and its interests to the best of my ability."

"Initial enthusiasm gradually gave way to disappointing disillusionment," he added.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Badal accused the party of having a coterie of men in Delhi running the affairs in Punjab.

"How can you operate with party that's at war with itself?" he questioned.

Badal, who has been in politics for almost 30 years, said that Home Minister Amit Shah, whom he referred to as a tiger, had vowed to "do everything for Punjab."

"I am always concerned for Punjab and the future of Punjab," Badal said.

With agency inputs

First Published:Jan 18, 2023 2:31 PM IST