Voice not being heard: Churu MP Rahul Kaswan after quitting BJP

Sitting Churu MP Rahul Kaswan on Monday resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress in the presence of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi. After joining, Kaswan, who was denied a ticket by the BJP to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, said he felt his "voice was not being heard" in the saffron party.

Kaswan's name was cleared by the Congress' central election committee as a candidate from Churu, sources said. He is the second BJP MP in as many days to join the Congress, following in the footsteps of Brijendra Singh, the BJP MP from Haryana's Hisar, who joined the party on Saturday.

Welcoming Kaswan into the Congress fold, Kharge said the party needs such people, who have fought against power. "I heartily welcome Rahul Kaswan ji on joining the Congress. I am happy that Rahul Kaswan ji, who fought against feudal people and have supported the farmers' issue, has joined the Congress," Kharge said.

"If people with such ideology keep joining the Congress, then the BJP will certainly be decimated. The BJP has always been intimidating people but we need people like Rahul Kaswan ji," he added.

The Congress chief also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speeches in different languages across the country and said he wants to have "mastery" over everything, but continues his habit of intimidating people.

Speaking to the media after joining the Congress, Kaswan said, "My entire family was working with honesty and dedication in the region, but a time came when I felt that my voice was not being heard (in the BJP). I felt that I would suffocate if I couldn't raise the issues of my farmer brothers (referring to the ongoing farmers' protests)."

Welcoming Kaswan, the Congress' Rajasthan unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra said he took membership of the party in Delhi in the presence of Kharge. "Undoubtedly, Rahul Kaswan ji's spirit of farmer welfare and public service will lend strength to public issues and strengthen the party organisation," Dotasra said.

Earlier, announcing his decision to resign from the BJP and his Lok Sabha membership, Kaswan expressed gratitude to PM Modi and party leaders for giving him the opportunity to represent Churu twice as its MP. "Due to political reasons, at this very moment today, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and from the post of Member of Parliament," Kaswan said in a post on X.

"I express my gratitude to BJP National President JP Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah, who gave me the opportunity to serve the Churu Lok Sabha family for 10 years, " he said.

The BJP has fielded Paralympic Games gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia from Churu.

Congress general-secretary Jairam Ramesh, its Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tika Ram Jully were also present as Kaswan joined the party.

Kaswan's family is counted among the prominent political families of Rajasthan. He won the Churu Lok Sabha seat for two consecutive terms. His father Ram Singh Kaswan was a four-time MP and mother Kamla Kaswan an MLA. His grandfather Deepchand Kaswan was a minister.