Chandigarh, Jan 1 (IANS): Former Punjab Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Jasvir Singh Garhi, along with his supporters, on Wednesday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann welcomed him into the party and assured him of AAP's dedication to social justice and inclusive governance.

Along with Garhi, former general secretaries of BSP Jaspreet Singh and Gurlal Saila also joined the AAP. On this occasion, MLAs Kulwant Singh Pandori and Sukhwinder Sukhi were also present.

Welcoming Garhi, CM Bhagwant Mann said, “The Aam Aadmi Party is dedicated to carrying forward the ideals of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram-ji. Together, we will ensure justice, equality, and opportunities for every section of society.”

“For the past two months, I remained silent about the decision taken by my previous party. I hoped they would introspect and correct their mistakes. Instead, I felt betrayed, as though my political assassination was carried out, similar to the sidelining of many leaders who stood with Kanshi Ram-ji,” Garhi told the media here.

Highlighting AAP's commitment to Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram’s ideology, Garhi credited MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi for showing him the path. “Dr Sukhi showed us that only the Aam Aadmi Party can truly carry forward the legacy of Ambedkar into every household. Under Arvind Kejriwal leadership, AAP printed calendars featuring Ambedkar-ji’s image and distributed them to homes in Delhi. In Punjab, 50,000 government offices now display Dr Ambedkar's photo.”

BSP supremo Mayawati had removed Garhi from the post of the party’s state unit president for indiscipline in November last year. Garhi was replaced by Avtar Singh Karimpuri, who has got his second innings as the state president after remaining in the same post from 2014-16.

A resident of Garhi Kanugo village of Nawanshahr, Garhi was himself a candidate for the Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha seat from where he lost.