MP Danish Ali, who was suspended by the Bahujan Samaj Party in December, joined the Congress on Wednesday ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

“The state of this country is not hidden from anybody,” Ali said at a press conference on Wednesday. “Today there is a power that wants to divide the country on one side and on the other side there is a power that wants to provide justice to the country’s poor, marginalised people. The choice is clear.”

He said that he joined the Congress because he was unable to fight the divisive forces with the same energy that he wanted to in his previous party.

Ali, who represents the Amroha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, was suspended by the Bahujan Samaj Party for alleged anti-party activities. The party had, however, not elaborated based on what activity it took the action.

Ali’s suspension came at a time when he was seeking action against Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Ramesh Bidhuri, who had used communal slurs against him in Parliament in September.

Bidhuri, an MP from South Delhi, made the communal remarks on September 21 during a debate in the Lok Sabha on the success of India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission. Bidhuri had called Ali a “mullah terrorist”, “pimp” and “katwa”, a slur used for circumcised Muslims.

Soon after this incident, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met with Ali to express his solidarity with the legislator.

Ali had also joined the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Manipur’s Imphal in January.

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