Senior journalist MJ Akbar joins BJP

Author and senior journalist MJ Akbar on Sunday joined BJP in the presence of party president Rajnath Singh. Akbar, who was earlier known to be close to Congress, switched over to the BJP bandwagon ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

He said that he has come back in politics for its policies and work to bring the nation back into a "recovery mission". "I have come back to politics because of policy (main rajniti me niti ke liye wapas aya hu). The crisis in front of the country is known to all. This is an opportunity to do whatever little we can do for our country," he said after joining the party.

"It is our duty to join hands with the voice of the nation and bring the country back to a recovery mission. I look forward to working in BJP," he told reporters. This is not Akbar's first stint with politics as he had earlier contested the elections from Kishanganj in Bihar on Congress ticket. Welcoming the senior journalist in the party fold, BJP president Rajnath Singh said people working in different areas like sports, politics, films and literature have joined the party.

"Now prominent people from media too are accepting membership of BJP to give this country a stable government. Akbar is known to be one of the stalwarts in media and has accepted to join the party. I welcome him," said Singh.

Akbar, who was close to then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, acknowledged that the latter was a friend and 20 years have passed since that. Backing Modi, Akbar said that no other leader has gone through so much scrutiny as has Modi. "It is not only that there is crisis. But now I also see a solution to the crisis. Narendra Modi's leadership is essential for the country," he said.

"In ten years, no other politicians has gone through so much scrutiny as Modi has gone through. He was scrutinised by police, central government, CBI, court-appointed institution," he said. "And those who rake up this issue all the time, I want to tell them to read the Justice Krishna report. How many people are there in Gujarat who are in jail through the legal system.

More than 100. Can one tell me the numbers as far as the 1984 and 1993 riots are concerned," he said. He also hoped that Muslims will join hands with BJP as they are equal citizens of the nation and will come out of the "politics of fear".