New Delhi/Chandigarh, April 2 -- Senior human rights lawyer and 1984 anti-Sikh riots crusader, Harvinder Singh Phoolka, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, marking his return to active politics after a seven-year hiatus. The 70-year-old former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA was inducted at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, working president Ashwani Sharma among others. Phoolka, a Jat Sikh from Bhadaur town in Sangrur, he has led a sustained legal battle on behalf of the victims of the riots, pursuing cases against Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, who were accused of instigating violence following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi. He credited the BJP for consistent support in his legal advocacy, noting that he has also undertaken legal work for the party. He cited Punjab's deteriorating law and order, widespread extortion and the drug menace as his primary motivation for returning to politics. Warning that the state's land could turn barren in 13-14 years without urgent intervention, he said: "the government is least bothered. So, I am returning to politics for Punjab." Speaking after joining the BJP, Phoolka said: "I have been fighting for the 1984 riots victims for the last 40 years, and I have been supported by the BJP since then. I was with the AAP for three years from 2014 to 2017, but my close association has always been with the BJP." Phoolka's political journey began in 2014 with the AAP, when he contested the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat but lost. He subsequently won the Dakha assembly seat in 2017 and briefly served as the leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly. However, he stepped back from active political duties in 2017 after the Delhi Bar Council barred him from practicing law while holding office, eventually resigning as MLA in 2018 and quitting the AAP in early 2019 to focus entirely on judicial causes. At one point, he described his entry into politics as a mistake but clarified that his brief stint with the AAP did not diminish his long-standing association with the BJP, stemming from shared efforts in 1984 judicial commissions. Responding to Phoolka's decision, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said: "I can only congratulate and wish him good luck. He is my old party colleague. I was in Parliament and he was in the state assembly." "If someone is elected by the people and leaves midway through his term, it is not good for democracy. I have never seen such a person win ever again," he added....