New Delhi: Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Raaj Kumar Anand on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday here in the national capital and criticized the AAP Chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying that he had requested the former to work towards the welfare of Dalits, however, he denied his requests.
He was welcomed into the party by BJP's Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva and national general secretary Arun Singh.
"I am grateful to the BJP for giving me the opportunity to join the party. I am committed to working for the welfare of all, particularly the Dalit community, to which I belong", Anand said while addressing the media.
Attacking the AAP Chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Anand said that he had requested the former to work towards the welfare of Dalits, however, he denied his requests.
"It is my responsibility to give back to society. I had requested Mr Kejriwal to work towards Dalit welfare, but he consistently denied my requests, which led to my resignation from the ministerial post. Despite the allocation of funds for Dalit welfare through the SC/ST fund, crores of rupees have not been utilized for the benefit of Dalits in Delhi over the past nine years", he said.
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The former AAP leader further added that the Dalit community is questioning the whereabouts of their welfare funds.
"The Dalit community is questioning the whereabouts of their welfare funds. Unfortunately, Mr Kejriwal ignored the Dalit community during the Trith Yatra Yojana. I am determined to work for the upliftment of Dalits and ensure that their rights are protected", he said.
Veena Anand, Raaj Kumar Anand's wife, also joined the BJP among other leaders. Earlier in April, Anand resigned from AAP and as minister of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's cabinet, alleging corruption in the party. Later, he joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to contest the Lok Sabha polls.
Anand faced raids by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) earlier in November last year in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.
Reportedly, around nine premises linked to Anand, including his official residence, were raided by the ED.
Anand was elected to the Delhi assembly in 2020 and he represented the Patel Nagar assembly constituency. He held multiple portfolios in the Kejriwal cabinet, including Social Welfare, SC and ST, Gurudwara elections, and Registrar of Cooperative Societies.
Before joining AAP, Anand was a businessman and was pictured beside Kejriwal in the Anna-Hazare-led movement against corruption in 2011.
—ANI
