Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) secretary Gaurav Bhatia joined the Bhartiya Janata party (BJP) yesterday, having resigned five months ago as the spokesperson for the Samajwadi Party (SP), reported the Hindustan Times.

Bhatia confirmed the news to us today in a message but did not comment further.

Bhatia, who was appointed as the additional advocate general for the state of UP during the term of SP member and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, told media that he had resigned from SP as the party was compromising principles of democracy, secularism and socialism.

In his capacity as the SCBA’s secretary, Bhatia had commented last week that the Bar Council of India (BCI) had been a let down, with its call for a nationwide lawyer strike that fellow BJP member and BCI chairman Mishra had announced in opposition to the law commission’s proposed reforms of the profession.

Mishra has been a member of the BJP since 2013.