Express News Service
AHMEDABAD: Jagmal Vala, a prominent BJP leader from the religious hub Somnath in Junagadh district joined the Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday. Vala had met Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi a few days ago.
AAP’s women wing chief Gauri Desai and founding member Kishore Desai welcomed Vala to the party.
Vala told the media that he had joined Janata Dal in 1990 and had helped it to win the Somnath assembly seat. After Janata Dal’s merger with Congress, he switched to BJP. After two decades, he contested as an independent in 2012 and got around 25,000 votes.
“Ever since I heard Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ji’s speeches, I have come to believe that only he can build India as the best country in the world,” said Vala. On the Congress, he said the party was nowhere to be seen at the national level. “The BJP and Congress are playing friendly matches. No party cares about the people at all. The BJP’s slogan of ‘sab ka vikas’ (development for all) is meant only for their leaders,” said Vala.
Wala, a social worker, said he joined the AAP, ahead of the assembly elections due by the year-end, as he was impressed with the party’s ideology and the work being done by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“We are happy to inform you that Somnath constituency’s social worker and former BJP leader Jagmal Wala has joined the Aam Aadmi Party. We welcome him on behalf of the whole Aam Aadmi Party,” Kishore Desai, a founder member of the AAP, told reporters here.
“Jagmal Wala has been doing social service for years and has also been following the Aam Aadmi Party for a long time,” he said.
Kishore Desai and Gujarat AAP women wing president Gauri Desai welcomed Wala into the party fold.
A veteran politician, Wala had been earlier associated with the Janata Dal and the Congress also.
“By joining the Janata Dal in 1990, I had helped the Janata Dal win the assembly seat of Somnath. After this, the Janata Dal merged with the Congress and therefore I decided to leave the Congress and join the BJP. After working in the BJP for 20 to 21 years, I contested assembly election as an independent candidate in 2012 (from Somnath seat) and got about 25,000 votes,” he said.
Wala said farmers are in trouble under the BJP rule and accused the saffron party of not fulfilling promises made to them in the past.
“There is a difference in what the Bharatiya Janata Party says and what it does. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that by 2022, the income of farmers would be doubled. But today instead of doubling the income of the farmers, their expenditures have doubled due to which farmers are in trouble.”
“At present, the government is increasing taxes on everything. And I have seen that this tax money is gobbled up by corrupt politicians and not used for public welfare at all,” he added.
Wala had recently met Kejriwal, who is also the AAP convener, during his Delhi visit.
(With PTI Inputs)
