Barkha Shukla joins BJP after expulsion from Congress
What's the story
Within a day of getting expelled from the Congress, Barkha Shukla Singh joined the BJP and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies.
She was welcomed to the BJP by the party's national vice president Shyam Jaju.
She said that her decision to join the BJP was not aimed at gaining a position of authority, but because she wanted to "work hard for assignments".
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Modi's response was satisfactory
"I wrote to Modi three years ago urging him to take up the triple talaq issue for protection of women. The way he has responded to it has satisfied me," said Barkha Shukla Singh.
Complaints
Barkha Singh criticizes Ajay Maken and Rahul Gandhi
Barkha Shukla Singh, a former chief of the Delhi Commission for Women, announced on Thursday that she was stepping down from her position as the chief of the women's wing of the Congress' Delhi unit.
She vocally attacked Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken for misbehaviour, and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for his apathy towards party problems.
However, she did not quit the party.
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Women empowerment means nothing to Congress
"The Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Ajay Maken has only used the issue of empowerment of women and women security to gather votes...The issue means nothing to them," said Ms. Singh before resigning from her post.
Expulsion
Barkha Singh becomes latest Congress leader to join the BJP
Following her criticism of Rahul Gandhi and Ajay Maken, Barkha Shukla Singh was expelled from the Congress for six years by the disciplinary committee of the party's Delhi unit.
Barkha Singh's action follows the footsteps of former Delhi minister and ex-Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely who, along with 10 other Congress leaders, recently quit the party to join the BJP.
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Rahul Gandhi "mentally unfit" to lead the Congress
"Senior-most leaders of the party, I would not like to name anybody, are also of the view that Rahul Gandhi is mentally unfit to lead the party but choose not to say it because of reasons that are unknown to me," fumed Ms. Singh.