9 more ex-MLAs join Cong

Times News Service

Chandigarh, September 1

With the haryana unit of the congress welcoming one and all into its fold even as the scramble for assembly elections has begun, the latest to join the party band wagon are the independent members of the dissolved state vidhan sabha.

The president of the haryana pradesh congress committee, Phool Chand Mullana, today, inducted nine members at the party office while one other independent MLA joined the party a couple of days back.

With this, all 10 independent members of the dissolved house have been formally inducted into the party. those inducted into the party are Harsh Kumar (Hathin), Habib-Ur-Rehman (Nuh), Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria (Sohna), Bachan Singh Arya (Safidon), Dinesh Kaushik (Pundri), Tejendra Pal Singh (Pai), Radhey Shyam Sharma (Narnaul), Shakuntla Bhagwaria (Bawal), sukhbir singh (rohat), Naresh Yadav (ateli).

Most of them were congressmen before the last assembly elections in 2005 and had been elected to the house as independents after being denied party tickets.

Mullana said they had become associate members of the congress during the term of the state government and their membership, now, had only been, renewed. "We don't need the approval of the general secretary in charge for this since they already were associate members of the party". he said.