Harvinder Singh Phoolka Joins BJP Ahead of Punjab Polls

Senior advocate Harvinder Singh Phoolka, renowned for his decades-long legal advocacy on behalf of victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday in New Delhi, signaling his return to active politics ahead of next year's Punjab Assembly elections.

Phoolka, a Padma Shri awardee from 2019, was inducted at the BJP headquarters in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar, and chief spokesperson Anil Baluni. Puri described the move as a significant addition that would bolster the party's commitment to justice, while Jakhar noted it as part of the BJP's outreach to the Sikh community.

In remarks after joining, Phoolka emphasized his long-standing ties with the BJP, stating, "I have been fighting the fight for the 1984 riots victims for the last 40 years, and I have been supported by the BJP since then. I have fought my fight together with them. I have also done a lot of legal work for the BJP." He reflected on his brief tenure with the Aam Aadmi Party from 2014 to 2017, calling it a mistake. "In 2014, I thought that party...