Suspended by BJP, Kirti Azad joins Congress

BJP had suspended Kirti Azad in 2015 after he had levelled charges of corruption against Arun Jaitley.

Photo courtesy: Twitter/@KirtiAzadMP

New Delhi: After a bitter fallout with the Bharatiya Janata Party which resulted in his suspension in 2015, cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad on Monday joined Congress.

Azad, who had previously levelled charges of corruption against Arun Jaitley and said funds of Delhi District Cricket Association were syphoned off under Jaitley's presidentship, was welcomed to Congress by party president Rahul Gandhi.

Azad, part of India's 1983 World Cup winning team, had made his debut in politics with BJP and had been elected to Parliament on a party ticket from Bihar's Darbhanga. His accusations against Jaitley, however, led to a lot of acrimony. He was charged with anti-party activities and accused of "colluding" with Congress and AAP to bring BJP into "disrepute".