Radhika Khera joins BJP days after quitting Congress over 'harassment'

Former Rajasthan Congress leader Radhika Khera joined the BJP on Tuesday, days after quitting the grand old party after accusing top leaders of harassment.

Khera, who was an All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson, resigned from the Congress on Sunday, alleging a conspiracy against her. She also claimed she was punished for visiting the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Speaking to India Today TV on Monday, Khera alleged that party leaders from Chhattisgarh Congress harassed her, locked her in a room and abused her. She claimed that she had raised the issue with the party leaders, but no action was taken.

After joining the BJP, Khera thanked the saffron party for its support while accusing the Congress of being anti-Hindu.

"The manner in which I was misbehaved with on the land of Kaushalya Mata for being a devotee of Ram, for having darshan of Ram Lalla, I would not have been able to reach here if I had not got the protection of the BJP government, the Modi government. Today's Congress is not Mahatma Gandhi's Congress, it is anti-Ram, anti-Hindu Congress," she said.

THE RADHIKA KHERA SAGA

In her resignation letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Radhika Khera said she faced criticism from within the party because she could not stop herself from visiting the Ram Temple, and getting a glimpse of Ram Lalla idol.

Prior to that, a video had gone viral of Khera - visibly upset - expressing grievances about disrespect towards her. She can be heard making allegations against an unnamed individual, stating that nobody in the party is respected, especially female politicians.

She later shared details of an incident on April 30, alleging that Chhattisgarh Congress unit communication wing chairperson Sushil Anand along with a few others verbally abused her in "words I never thought existed". The men allegedly locked her in a room for a minute with a few others keeping guard lest she run away.

"The latch of the room was locked for a minute during the ordeal, and two people kept guard. I somehow managed to open the door and ran from there," Radhika Khera told India Today TV.

She alleged that following the incident, she informed senior leaders Bhupesh Baghel, Pawan Khera and Sachin Pilot, among others, but no one helped her.

Radhika Khera alleged she didn't understand at the time that the only reason no Congress leader came forward to help her was because she had visited Ram Temple in Ayodhya and attended the consecration ceremony on January 22.

The former Congress leader, who broke down in tears while talking to India Today TV, alleged that ever since her visit to Ayodhya, the grand old party had been insulting her. She said she was barred from debates and asked not to speak due to her "pro-Hindu beliefs".