BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain presents the membership slip to S Krishna Kumar (L)

Former Union Minister Dr S Krishna Kumar on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of party leaders Shahnawaz Hussain and Anil Baluni.

"As a developmental activist, I have appreciated the depth of knowledge, attention to detail, and the political will of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I have decided to devote the rest of my life as a soldier of Narendra Modi," Mr Kumar said in a press conference.

"I feel people should give a mandate to PM Modi not for five years but for ten years, by which he will bring India to the top of the world," he added.

The 1963-batch IAS officer said he was against the leadership of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

"I was a three-time Congress MP, but during UPA's time, I was against the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and now I am against the leadership of her son. I was a close associate of Rajiv Gandhi, but I feel that after him desh-bhakt (patriot) Prime Minister should run this country," Mr Kumar said.

Mr Kumar also alleged that the UPA chairperson has no idea of Indian heritage neither does she have any love for the country. "She (Sonia Gandhi) has no idea of Indian heritage nor does she have any real love for India," he said.

"I know because of the experience, I was marginalized as I was not part of the people around her who have been accused of corruptions," Mr Kumar added.

"I was sad when Narasimha Rao ji was not given decent burial because of the machinations of Congress leader Ahmad Patel and Sonia Gandhi," he said.

Mr Kumar was a three-time Congress MP from Kollam Lok Sabha seat of Kerala.