It's up to Phoolka to decide if he wants to join BJP or not: Vijay Goel

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel on Sunday extended an open invitation to the noted lawyer HS Phoolka to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Union Minister Goel, while speaking to the media on the sidelines of a function to felicitate Phoolka for fighting and getting justice delivered to the families of 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims, said that the doors of the BJP were always open for the good people.

"The BJP's doors are always open for the good people. It is up to HS Phoolka to decide whether he wants to join the BJP or not," Goel said in response to a question from ANI.

On January 3, Phoolka handed over his resignation to AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal without mentioning any reason for his decision. Currently, Phoolka is a member of Punjab Legislative Assembly from Dakha in Ludhiana district.

Following his resignation from the AAP, speculations were rife that Phoolka was joining the BJP. Speculations got credence when the BJP decided to felicitate him for fighting the legal battle of families of 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims.

It is worth mentioning that Phoolka was felicitated on Sunday here at the residence of Vijay Goel in the presence of senior BJP leaders including Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Radha Mohan Singh. Apart from Phoolka, anti-triple talaq activist Shayara Bano and seven others were also felicitated on the occasion.

Phoolka, however, dismissed the speculations of joining any party. "At the moment, I am not joining any political party," said Phoolka.

However, the senior Supreme Court lawyer while speaking on the occasion, heaped praises on BJP patriarch L K Advani and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for their support in his fight for justice to the riot victims.

"I don' think I have done anything that deserves felicitation. I have only done my duty and God gave me success. Today, I am present among those people who have supported me during this 34-year-old fight. We have come to celebrate the conviction of prime accused Sajjan Kumar," said Phoolka.

He said that in 2005, the then-Congress led UPA government was creating a hindrance for the prosecution of Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jadish Tytler, despite the recommendation of action against them by the Nanavati Commission report.

"I was in LK Advani ji's room. There were several other NDA leaders present there. I told them how the government was wrong. Next day, they stalled the functioning of both the Houses of Parliament. After a few days, the Central government was forced to allow the prosecution. The conviction (of Sajjan Kumar) is a result of that work," he said.

Phoolka said that Kumar's conviction on December 17 last year was only the first victory and that two more accused-Jagdish Tytler and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath-were left to be brought to justice.