Congress leader and former Union minister RPN Singh joins BJP

Uttar Pradesh Law Minister Brijesh Pathak greets a street vendor during his party’s campaign, in Lucknow on Monday. Pic/ANI

Congress leader RPN Singh on Tuesday joined the BJP in the presence of the saffron party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Singh is the second big exit from the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after Jitin Prasada quit last year. Prasada joined the BJP and later became a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government. "This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation building under the visionary leadership & guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi, BJP president Shri @JPNadda ji & Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji," Singh, a former Union minister, had tweeted. The Congress said it is fighting an ideological battle in which cowards can't carry on.

Former Cong leader RPN Singh (2nd from right) joins BJP, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Pic/PTI

Besides Pradhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress to join the BJP and is a Union minister, was also present for Singh's joining in ceremony. Singh was also the in-charge for Jharkhand affairs of the Congress, where the party is in power along with the JMM. He has earlier represented the Padrauna assembly constituency and had defeated Swami Prasad Maurya from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Singh was on Monday included in the Congress list of 30 star campaigners for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh.

‘He was not committed'

The Congress said it is fighting an ideological battle in which only those with courage can carry on and not cowards. Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said Singh was "‘not fully committed" towards the party's ideology and that is why he left this fight midway to join the saffron party.

RPN Singh, who quit Congress on Tuesday

Another Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the Congress is fighting against the arrogance of the current government and its agencies. "To fight this battle for truth and ideals, one needs strength and courage and cowards cannot fight this battle," Shrinate said.

Public, not parties, ultimately pay for freebies, says PIL

The bench took note of submissions of senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Upadhyay, that a law need to be framed on the issue and steps like seizure of party symbols or taking back the registration of parties or both may be thought of as ultimately it is the citizens who have to pay up.

"Let us see. For the time being, we will issue notice and let the Government of India and the Election Commission come back with some response," the bench said after hearing brief arguments. The bench said that political parties may be included as parties to the plea later.

SC said political parties may be included as parties to the plea

"Legally, I am asking some legal questions in the debate. We want to know how to control all this. It is a serious issue, no doubt. Freebie budget is going beyond regular budget and sometimes, as observed by the Supreme Court in this paragraph (of an earlier judgment), it is not the level playing field.

"The parties who make more promises have the advantage and chance of winning the elections even though it does not amount to corrupt practices under the law," the bench said. It took note of the fact that the poll panel has conducted only one meeting on the issue.