Former BJP MLA from Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district Durga Dass joined the Congress here on Tuesday, a spokesperson of his new party said.
Dass, who had won the Assembly polls on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from the Hiranagar constituency in Kathua, joined the Congress along with Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) leader Mohammad Iqbal Dar at a function, the spokesperson added.
He said the new entrants were welcomed into the party fold by Congress in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Bharatsinh Solanki, All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Manoj Yadav, Pradesh Congress Committee president Vikar Rasool Wani and the party's candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls -- Choudhary Lal Singh and Raman Bhalla.
Meanwhile, Solanki released the "Paanch Nyay" (five justices) of the Congress and said his party has provided for justice to every section of the society.
"(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's guarantees are false and fake, but the Congress will fulfil all these guarantees as already proved in the past elections," Solanki said, adding that former party chief Rahul Gandhi took out the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra across the length and breadth of the country to feel the "pulse of people and fight for justice" to the common man.
He said the Congress has fielded the best candidates to serve the people and represent them in Parliament as the people of Jammu and Kashmir have "suffered a lot under the Modi regime".
"The people of Jammu and Kashmir have lost their identity, rights and status, and there is no democracy in the Union Territory for more than five years. It is time for the people of the region to teach the BJP a lesson for their better future, restoration of statehood and other rights," Solanki said.
He said the Congress, in a coalition with the INDIA bloc constituents and other like-minded parties, shall forcefully fight the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and ensure its victory with the support of people.
