New Delhi: Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) minister Lal Singh, who participated in a rally in support of the accused in the Kathua gangrape case in 2018, rejoined the Congress after a 10-year stint away from the grand old party.
The 65-year-old leader had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Congress had denied him a ticket to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Udhampur, news agency PTI reported.
Reports of him rejoining the Congress have come amid speculations that he will be fielded against Union minister Jitendra Singh from Udhampur, which is scheduled to go to polls on April 19. He also announced the merger of his outfit, Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party (DSSP), with the Congress.
However, former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad questioned the Congress for inducting Singh given his past conduct.
Kathua rally and exit from the BJP
Singh was a cabinet minister in the BJP-PDP alliance in the erstwhile state when he, along with his party colleague Chander Prakash Ganga, were forced to resign over their participation in a rally organised to support those arrested in connection with the Kathua rape and murder case in 2018.
After leaving the BJP in 2019, Singh launched his own outfit, DSSP, and contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Udhampur but was defeated by BJP’s Jitendra Singh.
After reading down of the Article 370 and reorganisation of J&K, he became a vocal critic of the BJP and its policies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Last year, the Enforcement Directorate had summoned Singh to the agency’s office. He was questioned for nearly 11 hours, which many saw as a a vindictive action against him at the behest of the ruling BJP.
Singh is a two-time former member of Parliament from Udhampur. He has been the health minister and forest minister in Jammu and Kashmir and also represented Basohli in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
