New Delhi, Dec 21 (Agency) Veteran Punjab Congress leader Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi quit his party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the state assembly polls. He joined the party in the presence of union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Bhupendra Yadav, and party leader Dushyant Gautam. In his resignation letter addressed to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Sodhi, who is considered close to former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, said he is deeply hurt by the bickering and in-fighting of the Punjab Congress. He said the Congress leadership is “hell bent on destroying the border state for their personal gains”.
“The decision I have taken is in interest of Punjab. It is a border state and there is a threat to the peace and harmony there. It is beyond the present government to handle the situation,” Sodhi said after joining the BJP. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said India needs a leader like him. “Punjab is a small state but it is complicated and important. To save Punjab I request the Prime Minister to take a look at it,” he said. He said he has spent 40 years in Congress, said the image of “secular Congress” has been “totally demolished”, and said, “Punjab is at threat because of the in-fighting”. Sodhi is the MLA from Guruharsahai in Punjab, and was the Sports Minister in the Punjab Government in the Amarinder Singh government.