Noted Sufi singer and former vice-president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Hans Raj Hans joined the Congress Party on Saturday in the presence of Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh.
"I had resigned one and a half years ago and was involved in music. But from the last year, I saw farmers, colonisers and poor in a very bad state. It is important to keep secularism in mind for Punjab. I found the Congress to be secular," Hans told ANI.
"We need people who respect others. There must be respect, music, industry. I am a part of the society and I felt bad seeing the condition of Punjab...so I joined Congress," he added.
Captain Amarinder Singh expressed happiness over Hans' joining the party and said Hans feels only the grand old party can bring improvement and change in Punjab.
Hans had been a part of the Shiromani Akali Dal for seven years before he resigned from the post of vice-president in 2014.
Hans had taken the step after he was denied the Lok Sabha ticket from Jalandhar in 2014.