Former Prime Minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s niece Karuna Shukla who has been fuming and snapped old tie with the BJP during Assembly election showing dissidence, finally joins Congress Party in Delhi on Thursday just before the general elections is just round the corner.

She said BJP has nominated its PM candidate a person who did not fulfill the duty of a husband or rajdharma (ruler’s duty) when he was Chief Minister. If such a person talks about discharging rashtradharma (duty toward nation). Shukla  slammed Narendra Modi, saying his promise of serving the country was nothing but “plain dishonesty”. Attacking Modi, she said people of the country will never allow such a person to become prime minister.

“let him trumpet about the wave. It does not take time for the weather to change. Waves change fast,” she said. “I served the BJP for 32 years. The kind of degradation that has happened in the BJP during the past seven to eight years is

unparalleled. After Atal Bihari Vajpayee fell sick, a group has in a way captured the BJP,” she said. Asked whether she meant Modi or Raman Singh by her refrain that BJP was captured by a group, she said when she is speaking from the national office of a party, her allegations are directed against the national leaders.

Karuna Shukla, who was one of the senior leaders of BJP in Chhattisgarh, was unhappy over being sidelined in the party and had openly criticised the BJP leadership on many occasions in recent past. She had resigned from BJP on October 25 last year since then speculation about her joining the Congress was rife.   Karuna Shukla the former MP from Janjgir constituency was defeated in 2009 elections at the hands of Dr Charan Das Mahant of Congress.

She was one of the national vice presidents of the BJP as well as the former national president of the BJP Mahila Morcha in the past and was also elected MlA from Baloda Bazaar seat twice.  Her joining Congress was announced by the party with much fanfare with senior Congress leaders Dwivedi, Motialal Vora, B K Hariprasad, Ajit Jogi, Chhattisgarh PCC Chief Bhupesh Baghel and ClP leader TS Singh Deo accompanying her at a press conference at the AICC headquarters.