Tag: Kuldeep Bishnoi

  • After cross-voting in Rajya Saha polls, ex-Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi joins BJP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi joined the BJP on Thursday along with his wife Renuka Bishnoi here in the presence of senior party leaders, including state Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

    Bishnoi, son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal, has been an MLA for four terms and MP for two terms while his wife is also an ex-MLA.

    Khattar welcomed him into the party at a ceremony at the BJP headquarters and said his induction will help the organisation.

    He noted that Bishnoi has been supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and backed the BJP during the recent Rajya Sabha polls despite being a Congress MLA.

    Lauding Modi as a “great prime minister”, Bishnoi said it would not be wrong to describe him as “India’s best prime minister” who always thinks about the country and the poor’s welfare.

    Bishnoi, who was a BJP ally earlier before joining the Congress, also lauded Khattar, saying his reputation remains spotless despite being chief minister for over eight years.

    Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also attended the joining ceremony.

    Bishnoi (53), who was expelled by the Congress for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls, had resigned from the Haryana Assembly on Wednesday.

    NEW DELHI: Former Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi joined the BJP on Thursday along with his wife Renuka Bishnoi here in the presence of senior party leaders, including state Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

    Bishnoi, son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal, has been an MLA for four terms and MP for two terms while his wife is also an ex-MLA.

    Khattar welcomed him into the party at a ceremony at the BJP headquarters and said his induction will help the organisation.

    He noted that Bishnoi has been supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and backed the BJP during the recent Rajya Sabha polls despite being a Congress MLA.

    Lauding Modi as a “great prime minister”, Bishnoi said it would not be wrong to describe him as “India’s best prime minister” who always thinks about the country and the poor’s welfare.

    Bishnoi, who was a BJP ally earlier before joining the Congress, also lauded Khattar, saying his reputation remains spotless despite being chief minister for over eight years.

    Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also attended the joining ceremony.

    Bishnoi (53), who was expelled by the Congress for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls, had resigned from the Haryana Assembly on Wednesday.

  • Congress deviated from ideology, says Kuldeep Bishnoi; resigns from assembly, set to join BJP

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who was expelled by the Congress from all party positions for cross-voting in the June Rajya Sabha polls, resigned from the assembly Wednesday, a day before he joins the ruling BJP.

    The 53-year-old Bishnoi submitted his resignation to Speaker Gian Chand Gupta here.

    This necessitates a bypoll for the Adampur seat in Hisar district, which Bishnoi currently represents.

    “I am joining BJP as an ordinary worker,” said Bishnoi, who also quit the Congress formally “taking into account my own feelings and those of my supporters”.

    Immediately after his resignation, Bishnoi challenged Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda to contest from Adampur.

    “Hooda had challenged me that Kuldeep Bishnoi should first resign (before joining the BJP). I challenge him, he had been a chief minister for 10 years, let him contest from Adampur against me or my son,” he said.

    Bishnoi was expelled from all party positions by the Congress soon after he cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls in June.

    The four-time MLA and two-time MP had been sulking since before that and had raised a banner of revolt after the party ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.

    For the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, it will be the second parting with the Congress, nearly six years after he had returned to the fold.

    Bishnoi said he resigned as MLA and also quit the Congress “taking into account my own feelings and those of my supporters”.

    “I feel the Congress is no longer what it used to be during Indira ji and Rajiv Gandhi ji’s time. The Congress has deviated from its ideology. It has been reduced to a party of ‘chatukars’ (sycophants). Many of those who are running the party are those who either have not fought election or haven’t won for decades,” Bishnoi said.

    All decisions taken by them are proving wrong across the entire country, he said.

    When told that Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan has said Bishnoi is joining the BJP because he was under the Enforcement Directorate scanner, Bishnoi said, “So far, I have not got any notice from the ED nor have they ever summoned me.”

    “Three years ago, there were some searches by the Income Tax Department and all cases are nearly settled,” Bishnoi said, adding he has always done politics of honesty and principles.

    “My image has been clean and will remain so in future also,” said Bishnoi, who was accompanied by his wife Renuka, a former legislator, while submitting his resignation to the Speaker at the Vidhan Sabha bhawan.

    ALSO READ | Presidential polls: Voted according to my conscience, says rebel Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi

    Replying to a question, Bishnoi said that BJP will decide who will contest the bypoll from Adampur, but he and people of his constituency want that his son Bhavya Bishnoi contest from there.

    He, however, said, “whatever is decided by the party, we will respect that”.

    About BJP, Bishnoi said BJP thinks about keeping the nation’s interests in mind.

    “And I don’t think it will be wrong to say that Narendra Modi is one of the best Prime Ministers. In Haryana, I am impressed with the style of working of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar,” he said.

    He said apart from the reasons he gave “all these are the factors behind my resignation and quitting Congress”.

    To a question, he said, “I have seven former MLAs whose list I will give to Chief Minister Khattar and if BJP wants they too will join the BJP”.

    Bishnoi and his father Bhajan Lal had floated the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) in 2007 after the Congress handpicked Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the chief minister’s post following the party’s thumping victory in the assembly polls in 2005.

    The HJC later entered into a tie-up with the BJP and two other parties, who jointly contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Haryana.

    They were supposed to contest the assembly polls together as well but the alliance crumbled.

    About six years ago, Bishnoi did return to Congress but he and Hooda never had warm relations.

    Bishnoi had Tuesday evening held a meeting with his supporters at Adampur and sought suggestions from them on joining the BJP, which was supported by all by raising their hands.

    After this, he told them that the time has come to end the long exile.

    In recent weeks, Bishnoi had held meetings with top BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief J P Nadda and Khattar, who heaped praises on them.

    When asked about it, Hooda said on Tuesday Bishnoi is free to take a decision on his political future.

    “After he resigns as MLA and the seat is declared vacant, the Congress is prepared to face the byelection to be held in Adampur,” Hooda had told reporters here.

    In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 40 MLAs and the Congress has 30 after Bishnoi’s resignation.

    The JJP, which is an ally of the BJP, has 10 legislators while the Indian National Lok Dal and the Haryana Lokhit Party have one each and seven are independents.

    Earlier this year, the Congress had appointed Hooda loyalist Udai Bhan as its Haryana unit chief.

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who was expelled by the Congress from all party positions for cross-voting in the June Rajya Sabha polls, resigned from the assembly Wednesday, a day before he joins the ruling BJP.

    The 53-year-old Bishnoi submitted his resignation to Speaker Gian Chand Gupta here.

    This necessitates a bypoll for the Adampur seat in Hisar district, which Bishnoi currently represents.

    “I am joining BJP as an ordinary worker,” said Bishnoi, who also quit the Congress formally “taking into account my own feelings and those of my supporters”.

    Immediately after his resignation, Bishnoi challenged Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda to contest from Adampur.

    “Hooda had challenged me that Kuldeep Bishnoi should first resign (before joining the BJP). I challenge him, he had been a chief minister for 10 years, let him contest from Adampur against me or my son,” he said.

    Bishnoi was expelled from all party positions by the Congress soon after he cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls in June.

    The four-time MLA and two-time MP had been sulking since before that and had raised a banner of revolt after the party ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.

    For the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, it will be the second parting with the Congress, nearly six years after he had returned to the fold.

    Bishnoi said he resigned as MLA and also quit the Congress “taking into account my own feelings and those of my supporters”.

    “I feel the Congress is no longer what it used to be during Indira ji and Rajiv Gandhi ji’s time. The Congress has deviated from its ideology. It has been reduced to a party of ‘chatukars’ (sycophants). Many of those who are running the party are those who either have not fought election or haven’t won for decades,” Bishnoi said.

    All decisions taken by them are proving wrong across the entire country, he said.

    When told that Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan has said Bishnoi is joining the BJP because he was under the Enforcement Directorate scanner, Bishnoi said, “So far, I have not got any notice from the ED nor have they ever summoned me.”

    “Three years ago, there were some searches by the Income Tax Department and all cases are nearly settled,” Bishnoi said, adding he has always done politics of honesty and principles.

    “My image has been clean and will remain so in future also,” said Bishnoi, who was accompanied by his wife Renuka, a former legislator, while submitting his resignation to the Speaker at the Vidhan Sabha bhawan.

    ALSO READ | Presidential polls: Voted according to my conscience, says rebel Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi

    Replying to a question, Bishnoi said that BJP will decide who will contest the bypoll from Adampur, but he and people of his constituency want that his son Bhavya Bishnoi contest from there.

    He, however, said, “whatever is decided by the party, we will respect that”.

    About BJP, Bishnoi said BJP thinks about keeping the nation’s interests in mind.

    “And I don’t think it will be wrong to say that Narendra Modi is one of the best Prime Ministers. In Haryana, I am impressed with the style of working of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar,” he said.

    He said apart from the reasons he gave “all these are the factors behind my resignation and quitting Congress”.

    To a question, he said, “I have seven former MLAs whose list I will give to Chief Minister Khattar and if BJP wants they too will join the BJP”.

    Bishnoi and his father Bhajan Lal had floated the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) in 2007 after the Congress handpicked Bhupinder Singh Hooda for the chief minister’s post following the party’s thumping victory in the assembly polls in 2005.

    The HJC later entered into a tie-up with the BJP and two other parties, who jointly contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Haryana.

    They were supposed to contest the assembly polls together as well but the alliance crumbled.

    About six years ago, Bishnoi did return to Congress but he and Hooda never had warm relations.

    Bishnoi had Tuesday evening held a meeting with his supporters at Adampur and sought suggestions from them on joining the BJP, which was supported by all by raising their hands.

    After this, he told them that the time has come to end the long exile.

    In recent weeks, Bishnoi had held meetings with top BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief J P Nadda and Khattar, who heaped praises on them.

    When asked about it, Hooda said on Tuesday Bishnoi is free to take a decision on his political future.

    “After he resigns as MLA and the seat is declared vacant, the Congress is prepared to face the byelection to be held in Adampur,” Hooda had told reporters here.

    In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 40 MLAs and the Congress has 30 after Bishnoi’s resignation.

    The JJP, which is an ally of the BJP, has 10 legislators while the Indian National Lok Dal and the Haryana Lokhit Party have one each and seven are independents.

    Earlier this year, the Congress had appointed Hooda loyalist Udai Bhan as its Haryana unit chief.

  • Presidential polls: Voted according to my conscience, says rebel Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who cross-voted in last month’s Rajya Sabha polls, on Monday said he has voted according to his conscience in the presidential election too.

    Indicating that he supported NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu rather than the opposition’s Yashwant Sinha, Bishnoi said in Delhi, “Like in Rajya Sabha, I have cast my vote in this election too as per my conscience”.

    When reporters asked about his future course of action, he said, “I will reveal that soon.”

    “The Congress is no longer the party as it was during Indira ji or Rajiv ji’s time,” he said, claiming that common workers and even senior “don’t get that respect in the Congress now”.

    He said Congress leaders, with whom he has personal relations, keep telling him that he should not leave the party.

    Before the Rajya Sabha polls too, Bishnoi, the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, had said he would go by his conscience.

    The system of secret ballot is followed in the presidential election, and parties cannot issue whips to their MPs and MLAs.

    While other Haryana MLAs were exercising their franchise at the Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh, Bishnoi had sought permission to cast his vote at Parliament House.

    The 53-year-old legislator from Adampur had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda in New Delhi recently and later heaped praises on them.

    Bishnoi, a four-time MLA and a two-time MP, has been sulking ever since the Congress ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.

    The party appointed Udai Bhan, a loyalist of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as its Haryana president.

    Bishnoi was expelled from all party positions on June 11 for not following the party line in the Rajya Sabha elections.

    “The Congress also has rules for some leaders and exceptions for others. Rules are applied selectively. Indiscipline has been repeatedly ignored in the past. In my case, I listened to my soul and acted on my morals,” he had then tweeted in response.

    Last month, Bishnoi said he was consulting his supporters to decide his next course of action.

    Earlier, the Adampur MLA and a prominent non-Jat face in Haryana, Bishnoi had batted for promoting young faces with a “mass base” to strengthen the party.

    He had earlier described Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the party as a big blow and said there are many devoted leaders across the country who feel “alienated, wasted and discontented”.

    In the recent Rajya Sabha election, the Congress, which is the main opposition party in Haryana, was assured of one seat by virtue of the number of MLAs it has in the 90-member assembly.

    However, Congress candidate Ajay Maken failed to secure the berth after Bishnoi cross-voted, while another MLA’s vote was declared invalid.

    BJP’s Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were elected to the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana for which the election was held last month.

    CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who cross-voted in last month’s Rajya Sabha polls, on Monday said he has voted according to his conscience in the presidential election too.

    Indicating that he supported NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu rather than the opposition’s Yashwant Sinha, Bishnoi said in Delhi, “Like in Rajya Sabha, I have cast my vote in this election too as per my conscience”.

    When reporters asked about his future course of action, he said, “I will reveal that soon.”

    “The Congress is no longer the party as it was during Indira ji or Rajiv ji’s time,” he said, claiming that common workers and even senior “don’t get that respect in the Congress now”.

    He said Congress leaders, with whom he has personal relations, keep telling him that he should not leave the party.

    Before the Rajya Sabha polls too, Bishnoi, the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, had said he would go by his conscience.

    The system of secret ballot is followed in the presidential election, and parties cannot issue whips to their MPs and MLAs.

    While other Haryana MLAs were exercising their franchise at the Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh, Bishnoi had sought permission to cast his vote at Parliament House.

    The 53-year-old legislator from Adampur had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda in New Delhi recently and later heaped praises on them.

    Bishnoi, a four-time MLA and a two-time MP, has been sulking ever since the Congress ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.

    The party appointed Udai Bhan, a loyalist of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as its Haryana president.

    Bishnoi was expelled from all party positions on June 11 for not following the party line in the Rajya Sabha elections.

    “The Congress also has rules for some leaders and exceptions for others. Rules are applied selectively. Indiscipline has been repeatedly ignored in the past. In my case, I listened to my soul and acted on my morals,” he had then tweeted in response.

    Last month, Bishnoi said he was consulting his supporters to decide his next course of action.

    Earlier, the Adampur MLA and a prominent non-Jat face in Haryana, Bishnoi had batted for promoting young faces with a “mass base” to strengthen the party.

    He had earlier described Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the party as a big blow and said there are many devoted leaders across the country who feel “alienated, wasted and discontented”.

    In the recent Rajya Sabha election, the Congress, which is the main opposition party in Haryana, was assured of one seat by virtue of the number of MLAs it has in the 90-member assembly.

    However, Congress candidate Ajay Maken failed to secure the berth after Bishnoi cross-voted, while another MLA’s vote was declared invalid.

    BJP’s Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were elected to the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana for which the election was held last month.

  • Cross voting in Rajya Sabha polls: Congress expels its Haryana MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi from all party positions

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A day after losing the Rajya Sabha election in Haryana due to cross-voting, the Congress cracked the whip and expelled its legislator Kuldeep Bishnoi from all party positions.

    The Haryana Congress has alleged that Bishnoi, an MLA from the Adampur constituency in Hisar, did not vote for the party candidate Ajay Maken and cross-voted in favour of Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, who was supported by the ruling BJP-JJP combine.

    The Congress had 31 MLA and needed as many votes to win the Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana, but one of its legislators cross-voted and another’s vote was cancelled.

    “The Congress president has expelled Kuldeep Bishnoi from all his present party positions, including the post of special invitee of the Congress Working Committee, with immediate effect,” a statement from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said.

    Bishnoi had not attended any of the party meetings of its legislators and had said that he has voted as per his conscience.

  • Action sought against Congress’ Kuldeep Bishnoi for cross-voting during Rajya Sabha polls: Sources

    Congress nominee Ajay Maken failed to secure Rajya Sabha berth after one of the party's MLAs, Bishnoi, cross-voted, while the vote of an MLA was declared invalid.

  • Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi receives death threat, FIR registered

    By PTI

    HISAR: Haryana Congress leader and legislator Kuldeep Bishnoi on Tuesday said he received a death threat on his mobile phone from an unidentified person, following which an FIR was lodged.

    The MLA from Adampur said he has been threatened that he if does not “mend his ways” he will meet the same fate as that of Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala. Moosewala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Mansa, Punjab, on May 29.

    The threat was received through WhatsApp in the afternoon on Bishnoi’s mobile phone following which the MLA’s personal secretary lodged a police complaint. Police said an FIR has been lodged and investigation is on.

    Bishnoi, the younger son of former Haryana Chief Minister late Bhajan Lal, is currently in Delhi.

    Police said a case has been registered against unknown person at Adampur Police Station in Hisar district under the Information Technology Act and section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.