Ghaziabad:

Union minister and BJP MP from Ghaziabad Gen (retd) V K Singh on Sunday said he will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and also for Road Transport and Highways represented the Ghaziabad constituency for two terms since 2014.

“I have dedicated my entire life to the service of this nation as a soldier. For the last 10 years, I have worked tirelessly to fulfill the dream of making Ghaziabad a world-class city. In this journey, I am grateful for the trust and love that I have received from the people of the country and Ghaziabad as well as from the members of the BJP. This emotional bond is priceless to me,” Mr Singh posted in Hindi on X.

मैंने सैनिक के रूप में इस राष्ट्र की सेवा में अपना सारा जीवन समर्पित किया है। पिछले 10 वर्षों से, मैंने गाजियाबाद को एक विश्व स्तरीय शहर बनाने के सपने को पूरा करने के लिए अथक परिश्रम किया है। इस यात्रा में, देश और गाजियाबाद के नागरिकों के साथ-साथ भाजपा के सदस्यों का जो विश्वास और…

— Gen VK Singh(MODI KA PARIWAR) (@Gen_VKSingh) March 24, 2024

“With these feelings, I have made a difficult, but thoughtful decision. I will not contest the 2024 elections. This decision was not easy for me, but I have taken it from the bottom of my heart. I want to take my energy and time in new directions, where I can serve my country in a different way,” Mr Singh added.

Further in the same post, he thanked people for their support and faith in him, saying he would continue his service towards the country and all the citizens, “just in a new form”, Mr Singh tagged PM Narendra Modi, BJP president J P Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the prime minister’s office (PMO) in his social media post.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dausa (Rajasthan):

Union Minister and former Army chief General VK Singh has claimed that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) would merge with India soon “on its own”.

“PoK will merge with India on its own, wait for some time,” the Union minister for State said while responding to a query in a press conference here in Dausa regarding demands of Shia Muslims in PoK seeking opening of border crossing with India.

The minister was addressing a press conference in Dausa during a Parivartan Sankalp Yatra (PSY) programme of the BJP.

The Union minister also spoke about the success of the recently concluded G20 Summit under India’s presidency. He said that that the grandeur of the summit has given India a unique identity on the world stage and the country has proved its mettle in the world.

“The G-20 meeting was unprecedented. It has never been done before nor any other country except India can organise a summit like this. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has proved its mettle in the world. The G-20 group includes all the powerful countries of the world,” Mr Singh said.

Further, coming down heavily on the Rajasthan Government over the law and order situation, the minister alleged that under the current Congress government, the state is troubled by the poor law and order situation.

“This was the reason why the BJP had to organise the Parivartan Sankalp Yatra to go among the people and listen to them. The people want a parivartan (change) and they are coming with us on this yatra and have made up their mind to bring about change,” he said, adding that the yatra is getting immense public support across the state.

On the question about the BJP’s chief minister’s face in the state for the upcoming assembly elections, V K Singh said that the BJP does not declare the chief minister’s face wherever elections are held, but contests elections only on the charisma of the Prime Minister.

“Everyone should assume that the party will give opportunity to such leaders who are good, useful and on whom the public has confidence,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)