STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Congress is now bereft of any Tea Tribe legislator in Upper Assam with Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi tendering his resignation letter to Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimari on Friday. He is going to join the BJP on Monday.
Meanwhile, the APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) expelled Rupjyoti Kurmi from the party as its primary member with immediate effect for his anti-party activities.
Upper Assam had all along been a Congress bastion with strong Tea Tribe leaders. With the resignation of Kurmi, the party has lost its grip over Upper Assam, let alone Tea Tribe belts.
In Guwahati, Congress' Kamrup (M) District Committee president Juri Sarma Bordoloi also resigned from the Congress on Friday. The allegation of both Kurmi and Juri Sarma Bordoloi against the Congress is that "the party is suffering from a dearth of true leader". The duo also laid bare the ongoing infighting in the State Congress.
After his resignation, Kurmi spewed venom against State party president Ripun Bora and senior leader Rakibul Hussain. "They shook hands with the AIUDF leaders without taking the young leaders of the party into confidence. The result is that the party has lost its grip over Congress bastion – Upper Assam.
"I'm a four-time MLA in a row from Mariani. Despite the BJP wave, I came out the winner in 2016 and 2021. However, the party continued to deny me the position I deserved."
Lashing out at Rahul Gandhi, Kurmi said, "The results of elections in the five States are a clear signal that the party will keep losing elections so long it gives importance to Rahul Gandhi. The Congress will keep losing its relevance so long Rahul Gandhi is at the helm of its affairs."
Reacting to the development, Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia said, "Rupjyoti Kurmi deserting the Congress is a loss for the party. He had a few pangs of heartache, and that's quite natural. His resignation is indeed a loss for the Congress, but it's difficult to assess as to how big a loss it is."
APCC president Ripun Bora said, "A leader of the stature of Rupjyoti Kurmi quitting the party is a loss. He was an asset to the party. Till two days back he was vocal against the Congress. Now all of a sudden he's going to join the BJP. We did confront such situations earlier also, but we overcame all those odds. Had the party won the Assembly poll nobody would have said anything. Now all are vocal against the party leadership in the State."
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