Senior Supreme Court advocate and human rights activist Harvinder Singh Phoolka, who joined the BJP in Delhi on Wednesday afternoon, used the occasion to invoke his decades-long association with the party and with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases, recalled his personal trauma, and launched sharp attacks on the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab.

“Modi ji likes Punjab and Punjabis a lot. Modi ji likes me a lot too, as I fought for the justice of the 1984 genocide victims. The BJP fought for the 1984 victims from the front as their own personal issue. I assisted them legally in fighting the cases,” Phoolka said, signalling an ideological alignment with the BJP while underlining his long association with the cause.

“I can understand the pain of the 1984 victims as I myself was a victim. I cannot forget November 2, 1984, when a mob entered the house where I was living on rent…Our landlord, a Punjabi Hindu family, saved me and my pregnant wife…had they not hidden us in their storeroom… we would not have been alive today,” he recalled.

Rejecting the narrative of communal conflict, he added, “Congress has time and again said that it was Hindus versus Sikhs… no, it was Congress versus Sikhs, as Congress supporters did not spare even the Hindus who were helping Sikhs.”

Phoolka went on to allege that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had planned the action against Sikhs during her lifetime, “but it was executed after her death”.

He also highlighted his past association with the BJP, stating, “BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana was so committed to the 1984 victims that he was involved in all the cases against the victims. In addition to this, he even made me his advisor when he became Delhi chief minister in 1992. From 2003 to 2013, I guided the BJP’s Delhi team legally, without taking any fees.”

Reflecting on his political journey, Phoolka said his decision to join AAP in 2014 was a “mistake”. “I committed a mistake in 2014 and joined a party which claimed to bring change…,” he said, adding “haathi ke daant khane ke aur dikhane ke aur the”, suggesting that appearances can be deceptive.

“I even became Leader of Opposition in 2017… but the Bar Council told me I could not fight cases while holding a political post. I had to choose between justice for 1984 victims and the LoP post, so I quit politics,” he said, adding that it was after this that Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was convicted and “is still behind bars”.

Turning to present-day Punjab, Phoolka painted a grim picture. “The condition of Punjab is deplorable…extortion calls are being made to every second person in Punjab; law and order has collapsed; groundwater is falling…Punjab can become barren. Only one party can save Punjab, and that is the BJP,” he said, alleging that “Kejriwal has placed his people in government offices in Punjab and corruption is widespread.”

He also referred to his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recalling, “During the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji at Red Fort last November, PM made me sit next to him… Congress never made such efforts organise such programmes .” He added that recognition of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s sacrifice was corrected in textbooks only after Murli Manohar Joshi became the Union education minister.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, welcoming Phoolka, said he is “a household name among Sikh families” for his role in securing justice for 1984 victims. BJP Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar, along with party leaders Ashwani Sharma and Tarun Chugh, was present at the induction.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reacted to the development, saying, “He was my former colleague. I was in Parliament, and he was in the Punjab Assembly. He was also the Leader of the Opposition. He resigned from the Assembly… Normally, it is seen that a person elected by the masses, if he leaves the term midway, is hardly re-elected. However, I wish him good luck for his journey ahead.”

Phoolka, who hails from Barnala district, reiterated that his roots remain in Punjab, saying the current situation in the state compelled him to re-enter active politics through the BJP.