PM Manmohan Singh's step-brother Daljit Singh Kohli joins BJP

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's step-brother Daljit Singh Kohli joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at an election meeting in Amritsar, Punjab today in the presence of its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and senior leader Arun Jaitley.

Mr Modi was in Amritsar, from where Mr Jaitley is seeking to enter the Lok Sabha, as part of a campaign trip to Punjab to muster support for his party in the ongoing Parliamentary elections.

Mr Kohli's decision is bound to cause some embarrassment to Dr Singh as well as his Congress party.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's brother has joined the BJP today and I am sure that this will increase our strength. I welcome him into the party and want him to know that ours is not a 'membership party' but a 'relationship party'," Mr Modi said.

"I assure him that  the dreams for India and Punjab which he has come into the BJP with will be fulfilled," he said.

Mr Kohli said his brother Manmohan Singh was a respected and honest man who served the nation with absolute honesty and dedication. But he felt the Congress never gave his brother a free hand and interfered with the working of the government, landing the nation in its present difficult situation.

"My decision to join the BJP has been taken in the interest of the nation and Punjab," he said, expressing confidence that Mr Modi would be able to provide a new vision and direction to the country.

The Prime Minister's family said they were surprised by the development. "His considerations are best known to him but he is free to pursue his political career," a source close to the family added.

NNN