Former AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand joins BJP

Former AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Wednesday. He resigned from the AAP in April this year and joined the BSP. 

In April, Anand resigned from the Cabinet, citing his dissatisfaction over the party's policy on corruption, a clear reference to the liquor policy case in which key leaders, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia, have been arrested.

Raaj Kumar Anand, an MLA from Patel Nagar, was Minister of Social Welfare and SC/ST in the Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet.

Anand said he did so as he could not connect his name with the ongoing 'corruption'. "Aam Aadmi Party was born to fight corruption but today the party is stuck in a swamp of corruption. It has become difficult for me to work on the minister's post. I resigned from the post of minister and from the party as I can't connect my name with this corruption," Anand said.

"From the Jantar Mantar, Arvind Kejriwal had said that the country will change once the politics changes. The politics hasn't changed, but the politician has changed," he added.

Anand also alleged that the Dalits did not have adequate representation in the party. He claimed that Dalit MLAs, ministers or councillors of the AAP were not given any respect. "I became a minister to pay back the society. I don't want to be part of a party that takes a backseat when Dalit representation is talked about. I am not joining any party," he said.