Former Haryana minister Sampath Singh will rejoin the Congress, a step the senior leader said he is taking because he feels the party can protect the better interests of farmers. “I have decided to rejoin the Congress. My move is primarily based on farmers’ interests as I feel this party can look after the interests of the farming community better,” Singh told PTI over phone after meeting senior Congress leader KC Venugopal in Delhi. Told to I.
Singh said the meeting was organized by Congress Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Deepinder Singh Hooda.
After meeting Venugopal, Hooda tweeted, “Sampat Singhji will join Congress soon. I am sure that Congress will become stronger with his involvement. The six-time MLA quit the Congress in 2019 and later remained associated with the BJP, though he claimed he never formally joined the ruling party.
“I have been associated with the BJP for some time though I never formally joined the organization or held any post. I participated in BJP’s election rallies in 2019 after quitting the Congress.
Singh said that a year ago, he was offered membership of the BJP’s state executive committee but declined, saying that the BJP should first find solutions to the concerns raised by farmers. Should be when there was a movement against the Centre’s now repealed Farm Rules. On
“I did not accept this responsibility because I was supporting the farmers’ protest. Even now, I feel that the condition of the farmers has not changed much,” Singh said.
However, he said that as far as personal relations are concerned, he still has a good relationship with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Singh quit the Congress just two weeks before the Haryana assembly elections in October 2019. He was aspirant for election from Nalwa segment but he did not get ticket.
Before resigning, Singh had joined the Congress in 2009 after leaving the Indian National Lok Dal. He was a minister during the previous INLD government.
Singh said that throughout his life he followed the principles and ideals of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Devi Lal.
“I will join the Congress within a week at the Haryana Congress office in Chandigarh,” he said, while state Congress president Uday Bhan has been his companion since 1987.
“I was the state home minister then and he was an INLD MLA,” he said, adding that he had great respect for senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Singh also served as Finance Minister in the Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD government.
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