Former Union minister Sukh Ram returns to Congress along with grandson, calls it homecoming

Former Union minister Sukh Ram Monday rejoined the Congress along with his grandson Aashray Sharma ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, with the party's saying his entry would boost its poll prospects in Himachal Pradesh.

"For me, it is like home-coming," said 93-year-old Sukh Ram who returned for the second time to the Congress which he had last left ahead of the 2017 assembly elections to join the BJP.

The Congress had sacked him in 1997 following his conviction in the telecom scam which occurred when he was a Union minister in the P V Narasimha Rao government, but he returned in 2004.

The development has led to speculation on the fate of Sukh Ram's son Anil Sharma, who is a cabinet minister in the BJP-led government in Himachal Pradesh.

S tate BJP president Satpal Singh Satti told PTI: "It is up to Anil Sharma whether to remain as HP minister or quit. He should make his stand clear."
Sukh Ram said, "For me, it is like home-coming. I will be 93 soon, I have come back to my house. I have spent my entire political life in the Congress. I have won 13 elections from my constituency. My family has won 17 elections and this speaks for itself."