A day after resigning from the Aam Aadmi Party, former Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday.
Gahlot joined the party in the presence of Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP national general secretary Dushyant Gautam and the party’s Delhi unit chief President Virendra Sachdeva.
In his resignation letter to party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, Gahlot had said: “Political ambitions have overtaken our commitment towards people, leaving many promises unfulfilled.”
He also criticised the Aam Aadmi Party’s focus on political conflicts, particularly with the central government, stating it has “severely crippled” its ability to serve Delhi residents effectively.
After being inducted into the BJP, Gahlot said: “I had left my practice as an advocate and joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Several persons like me had joined the party as they had hopes with its ideology.”
“The hope was to serve the residents of Delhi,” he added. “But those values have been lost. If the state government invests its whole time in fighting with the Union government, then there can be no development in Delhi.”
Gahlot has at various times held the home, transport, information technology and women and child development portfolios in the Delhi government. He is the MLA from Delhi’s Najafgarh seat.
He had referenced in his resignation letter controversies such as the “Sheeshmahal” episode involving the renovation of Kejriwal’s residence, saying they had “made everyone doubt whether we still believe in being the Aam Aadmi”.
When asked about Gahlot joining the BJP, Kejriwal said on Monday: “He is free; he can go wherever he wants.”
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Durgesh Pathak noted that Gahlot had been facing income tax raids for the past few months. “He was left with no option but to join the BJP,” Pathak said. “This is what the BJP does – they used the ED and CBI to win elections.”
In March, Gahlot appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case, in which other party leaders, including Kejriwal, have been accused of involvement.
In 2018, the Income Tax Department raided multiple locations linked to Gahlot and his family, alleging tax evasion of several crores.
On Monday, he stated that had not joined the BJP “under any pressure”.
“There is a narrative that I did this due to pressure from the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Enforcement Directorate,” he said. “I want to assert that since 2015, as an AAP member, as MLA and as minister, I have never done anything due to pressure.”