Cong leader Tom Vadakkan joins BJP

In a huge embarrassment to the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, its spokesperson Tom Vadakkan, once a key aide of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, joined the BJP Thursday and attacked his former party for its stand on Balakot air strikes.

Vadakkan, who joined the saffron party in the presence of Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and later met its president Amit Shah, said, "I am deeply hurt and that is why I am here."
Asserting that the Congress questioned the integrity of armed forces, he said, "The attack by Pakistan on our land and the reaction from my party was sad indeed."