Prime Minister's half-brother joins BJP, family 'shocked'
Family says PM and Kohli have not been in touch since long
Amritsar: In an embarassment to the Congress, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's step-brother Daljeet Singh Kohli joined the BJP at a public rally, in the presence of the party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Friday. The entry of Kohli, a local businessman, into the BJP came a day after the prime minister rejected perceptions of a 'Modi wave' in the country. Lok Sabha elections in Punjab are due in one phase on April 30.
Welcoming Kohli into the BJP fold, Modi said he will further strengthen the party. He said that, "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's brother Daljeet Singh has joined BJP. This will further strengthen us. We are not a party which talks of membership but one which forms relations". Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, the Lok Sabha candidate from Amritsar, also welcomed Kohli at the rally.
PMO sources said Manmohan Singh's family was "shocked" at the turn of events involving Kohli. "His intentions are not known but he is free to pursue his political career," they said, adding that the prime minister and Kohli have not been in touch with each other since long.
Prime Minister Singh is the only son and has six sisters while Kohli is his step-brother, the sources said. The prime minister's mother died at an early age.
Manmohan Singh yesterday dismissed that there was any 'Modi wave' in the country and claimed it was a creation of the media. "I don't think there is any Modi wave. It is the creation of the media. The country has not been swept by any Modi wave," the prime minister told reporters after voting at a polling booth in Guwahati.