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NEW DELHI: Former Indian army chief General V.K. Singh joined the BJP on Saturday.
Calling the BJP the only “nationalist” party, 63-year-old Gen Singh said, “We, who have served on borders, should work with nationalist forces. So, we have decided to move with BJP to bring a government which is stable, strong and takes decisions in national interest.’’
Gen Singh, who became the first army chief to take the government to court over his age controversy in 2012 insisting that he was born in 1951 not 1950, said the servicemen should support the BJP to form a “stable, strong and nationalist’’ government at the Centre.
The former army chief, who was associated with Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, had in October ruled out joining the BJP.
But speculations about his proximity to the BJP began when Gen Singh shared the dais with Narendra Modi at an an ex-servicemen’s rally in Haryana recently and met BJP strongman and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan last week.
Welcoming him into the party, BJP president Rajnath Singh accused the current UPA government of ignoring India’s defence, citing the beheading of Indian soldiers by Pakistan and intrusions by China.
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