Will work as a 'karyakarta' to fulfil PM Modi's dreams for India: RPN Singh after quitting Congress

Singh is the second big exit from the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after Jitin Prasada quit it last year. "I spent 32 years in one political party (Congress). But that party has not remained the same as it was before," Singh said after joining BJP

RPN Singh with Dharmendra Pradhan (Pic: ANI)

New Delhi: Former Congress leader RPN Singh on Tuesday (January 25) joined the BJP in the presence of the saffron party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Singh is the second big exit from the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after Jitin Prasada quit it last year. Prasada joined the BJP and later became a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government.

"This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation-building under the visionary leadership & guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi, BJP president Shri @JPNadda ji & Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji," Singh, a former Union minister, had tweeted before his joining.

On joining BJP, RPN Singh said, "I spent 32 years in one political party (Congress). But that party has not remained the same as it was before. I will work as a 'Karyakarta' towards fulfilling PM Modi's dreams for India."

Besides Pradhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress to join the BJP and is a Union minister, was also present for Singh's joining in the ceremony. Singh was also the in-charge of Jharkhand affairs of the Congress, where the party is in power along with the JMM. He has earlier represented the Padrauna assembly constituency and had defeated Swami Prasad Maurya from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Singh was on Monday included in the Congress list of 30-star campaigners for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. 

Congress Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate slammed Singh over his resignation and said, "The battle which Congress party is fighting can be fought only with bravery... It requires courage, strength and Priyanka Gandhi Ji has said that coward people can`t fight it."

Kunwar Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh, popularly known as Raja Saheb of Padrauna was a former Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He was an MP from the Kushinagar constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-2014). The 57-year-old former Congress loyalist from the erstwhile royal family of Sainthwar of Kushinagar (Padrauna) was an MLA from the Padrauna constituency of Uttar Pradesh (1996-2009), just like his father CPN Singh.

Popularly known as Raja Saheb of Padrauna, the Congress party`s Jharkhand in-charge, RPN Singh has previously severed as the Minister of State from 2012 to 2014. However, in the 16th Lok Sabha election, he lost to BJP`s Rajesh PandeyThe Doon School alumnus has also served as the All India Congress Committee`s Secretary from 2003-2006.

(With Agency inputs)