Close to some BJP leaders, but won’t join any party, says Phoolka
Doors of BJP are open for all ‘good’ people, says Union minster Vijay Goel
The BJP has always supported us in our fight for anti-sikh riots victims. I met law minister and home minister and they supported my stand. HS PHOOLKA, former AAP leader
NEW DELHI: Former AAP leader HS Phoolka was felicitated on Sunday for his legal battle for anti-sikh riot victims at an event hosted by Union minister Vijay Goel, who said the doors of the BJP were open for all “good” people.
Phoolka, though accepted his “closeness” with several BJP leaders, ruled out joining any political party.
“The BJP has always supported us in our fight for antisikh riots victims. I met law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and home minister Rajnath Singh and they supported my stand on it,” Phoolka told reporters. He, however, denied speculation that he might join the BJP. “I am not joining any political party,” he said.
Goel lauded Phoolka as a “good man” and his friend who fought to give justice to the victims of the 1984 anti-sikh riots. “It does not matter that he was associated with the AAP. He is a good person who did a good thing. That is why we are felicitating him. People ask me, if he will join my party. The BJP wants all good people should join it,” he said.
Phoolka had resigned earlier this month from the Aam Aadmi Party without giving any reason behind the move. He met Goel to greet him on his birthday on January 4, amid speculation that he might join the BJP.
Commenting on Phoolka’s resignation from AAP, Goel had said: “He quit AAP recently. (It is) better late than never.” Phoolka has avoided giving any reason for quitting the AAP and expressed his desire to float a non-political outfit in Punjab to fight the drug menace and the perceived politicisation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
He, however, was averse to any alliance between the AAP and the Congress. Reports about a pre-poll tie-up between the two parties are doing the rounds, with none of them denying it officially. WASHINGTON: Year-long celebrations of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary has kicked off in the US to spread his message of brotherhood and sharing.
The Indian embassy and consulates have chalked out a calendar of activities, including musical concerts, seminars and interfaith events throughout the year, India’s new ambassador Harsh V Shringla said. 2019 marks the 550th birth anniversary year of Guru Nanak, the first master of the Sikhs.
Shringla was addressing people gathered to celebrate the occasion with colourful events where artist Bhai Baldeep Singh played devotional music on Saturday.
“Guru Nanak Dev ji was one of India’s greatest philosophers, teachers and social reformers. Born in an epoch when the Indian society was caste-riddled, Guru Nanak’s voice was an empowering call to unshackle the human mind of centuries of religious and political tyranny and for the creation of a new egalitarian order,” Shringla told the gathering.
The Indian government, he said, is planning celebrations in