BJP veteran Rajen Gohain has quit from Assam government post
Veteran BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajen Gohain today resigned as the chairman of Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation in protest against the delimitation of the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency.
In his resignation letter to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Mr Gohain said it will be impossible for the party to win from that seat.
Mr Gohain, who represented the parliamentary seat four times, said his discussions with Mr Sarma regarding the delimitation exercise "did not bring any positive outcome".
Nobody should be given absolute power in the party's state unit, Mr Gohain told reporters without naming anybody, news agency PTI reported.
In the letter to the Chief Minister, Mr Gohain said the recent delimitation process has left the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency "unwinnable for BJP candidates in the future and has also put the people of the constituency under threat due to demographic change".
"Despite having numerous rounds of discussions with you, I am afraid that my concerns and deep dissatisfaction on the way the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency has been constituted did not bring any change whatsoever," his letter to Mr Sarma read.
Mr Gohain said he had also apprised Home Minister Amit Shah of his concerns and the Home Minister asked him to give his recommendations in writing.
"I did (that) the very next day, but unfortunately it did not bring any positive outcome... I feel betrayed and almost disrespected that a senior member like myself was not heard by his own party leaders on a genuine concern for the party's benefit," Mr Gohain said in the letter.
Mr Gohain said it is with great sadness that he has resigned with immediate effect as the chairman of the corporation which is a cabinet-rank post.
"I have been a very obedient soldier of the party for over 25 years and also represented the Nagaon Lok Sabha seat for four consecutive terms which is a span of 20 years and I think my experience on this matter should have been counted for and my concerns for the safety and identity of my people should be respected," he said.
He told reporters the recent delimitation regarding the assembly constituencies was correct and secure for the indigenous population, but the Nagaon parliamentary constituency has been "a gift" to opposition parties.