A day after he was expelled from the Congress, former Uttarakhand party president Kishore Upadhyay on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Dehradun.
The Uttarakhand BJP said in a tweet that Mr. Upadhyay joined the party after being impressed by the policies of the BJP government. He was welcomed by election in-charge and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and State BJP president Madan Kaushik at a ceremony at the party office in Dehradun.
On Wednesday, All-India Congress Committee in-charge for Uttarakhand Devender Yadav wrote to Mr. Upadhyay informing him of his expulsion.
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“Since you had been continuously indulging in anti-party activities despite several warnings, you are hereby expelled from the primary membership of the Congress party for six years with immediate effect,” Mr. Yadav wrote.
When news of Mr. Upadhyay joining the BJP broke, Mr. Yadav tweeted a copy of the letter and said: “The esteem and dignity of the party is above all. There never was and there never will be any place for those who do not respect the basic integrity and value system of the majestic institution that is the Indian National Congress”.