Parveen Amanullah, who quit as Social Welfare Minister of Bihar two days ago, joined the Aam Aadmi Party here on Thursday.
She and Suman Lal, social activist, also from Bihar, joined AAP, in the presence of its leaders Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh.
Ms. Amanullah, 52, quit the Janata Dal (United) membership on Tuesday, alleging lack of transparency in the Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar. She had been representing Sahebpur Kamal (Begusarai) in the Assembly.
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Her association with AAP will be a shot in the arm for the party, which is yet to make its presence felt in Bihar.
Ms. Amanulllah is married to a senior official in the Union government and is the daughter of Syed Shahbuddin of the Babri Masjid Action Committee.
“I was finding it difficult to work in the present system in the Bihar government. There is too much dependence on the bureaucracy with no accountability for them,” she said. “As a Minister, I tried to initiate decentralisation but could not go far. I favour AAP’s Swaraj model of governance that envisages people’s participation and transparency and decided to join the party.”
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Asked about the perception that Mr. Kumar was “autocratic,” she said, “In today’s type of governance, a Chief Minister holds complete powers,” but added that “though there is development in Bihar, the government could have done more had it allowed more participation of the people, ensured more accountability from the bureaucracy and encouraged transparency.”
Answering a question on the BJP, Ms. Amanullah told The Hindu that she did not believe in the politics of polarisation. “We should carry all together,” she said.