Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and four-time Nagaon MP Rajen Gohain has formally resigned from the party, citing deep dissatisfaction with the state leadership and the direction the party has taken in Assam.
Gohain, who was Minister of State for Railways during the first Modi government, submitted his resignation at the party's state headquarters, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan, on Thursday.
In a letter to state BJP president Dilip Saikia, Gohain said he was resigning from the primary membership of the party and stepping down from all party responsibilities with immediate effect.
Speaking to the media after his resignation, he said, "I haven't resigned with any political ambition. I just want to serve the people of Assam, if I get their support. We joined the BJP for the ideals of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani. Now the party has gone into someone else's hands. The BJP has become the main enemy of the Assamese. The party has fragmented the ethnic communities of Assam with the delimitation exercise. Ahoms were the deciding factor in 30-40 Assembly constituencies in the state. They are no longer the deciding factor now. Other ethnic groups of the state also met with similar fates."
Hinting at a possible shift toward regional politics, Gohain said, "Only a regional party can serve Assam's interests. BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary is now the core of the regional movement. I will take my decision soon."
Gohain criticized the AGP and lauded AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
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