Congress leader and former DCC general secretary Benny Peruvanthanam leaves Congress and joins BJP

IDUKKI: Prominent Congress leader and former DCC general secretary Benny Peruvanthanam has joined the BJP. He accepted membership from BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Benny Peruvanthanam clarified that he left Congress in protest against the party's stance on the Waqf issue. Benny accepted BJP membership at the Vikasita Keralam convention of the BJP Idukki South organizational district being held in Kattappana.

The program was inaugurated by Rajeev Chandrasekhar. 'When the Congress ruled the country from 2004 to 2014, there was price hike, unemployment and corruption that independent India had never seen. In the last nine years, people trusted the CPM in Kerala. Now it is not possible to move forward peacefully without taking loans. Unemployment has increased. The Kerala government sees the hill people as enemies,' Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in his speech.

Benny Peruvanthanam resigned from Congress last month in protest against the Congress's stance opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill. He had criticized the Congress for following an anti-Christian stance for some time now. "The Congress is not making its position clear on the Waqf issue. Congress MPs have two positions at the Centre and in Kerala. The Congress should not oppose the Waqf Bill," Benny Peruvanthanam had said after resigning.