BJP leader Rajen Gohain resigns as chairman of AF&CSCL

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajen Gohain resigned from the position of Chairman of the Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (AF&CSCL) as well as his cabinet position on Friday. He had announced this step on Thursday itself, and on the morning of Friday, he came from Nagaon to Guwahati to submit his resignation from his position at the Chief Minister's office. After submitting his resignation, he addressed the members of the media and said that the handing over of the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency to the minority community was the reason for his resignation.

In his letter, Rajen Gohain mentioned that he is resigning from the Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation with immediate effect. He mentioned that he has been a good advocate of the party and its ideology for more than two decades and has always supported and nurtured it with full capacity, but the recent delimitation process has rendered the 10-Nagaon Lok Sabha Constituency un-winnable for BJP candidates in the future, putting the people of Nagaon under threat because of the demography change.

He also said that despite having numerous rounds of discussion with the CM, his concerns and deep dissatisfaction with the way the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency has been constituted did not bring about any change whatsoever. He had also apprised Union Home Minister Amit Shah of the concerns, and during the meeting, the minister asked him to give his recommendations on the matter in writing, which he did the very next day, but unfortunately, it did not bring any positive outcome.

He added that he felt betrayed and almost disrespected that a senior member's genuine concern for the party's own benefit was not heard by his own party leaders. Mentioned that he has been a very obedient soldier of the party for more than 25 years, also representing the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 4 consecutive terms, which is a span of 20 years, and his experience on this matter should have been counted for, and his concerns for the safety and identity of the people should be respected.

He also mentioned that the people of Nagaon are distressed and disappointed by this decision and are afraid that the party cannot carry on with business as usual. Since somebody must take responsibility, he concluded that in these circumstances it would not be right for him to remain in office. He also thanked the party and its excellent party workers for giving him the chance to work for the people of this great country, and he really believes that the party workers are the backbone of the party and deserve better than this. Finally, he emphasized that this is a deeply personal decision that was taken alone, and he will, as always, remain loyal to the BJP.

It can be mentioned that the Nagaon Lok Sabha Constituency seat was first won by the party in 1999, which led to him being made the state president of the party, and he worked tirelessly towards its expansion in the state. Although the delimitation may be beneficial for the party in 106 constituencies of the Assam Legislative Assembly, it will definitely be a bad step for the Nagaon Lok Sabha Constituency and beneficial for Ajmal's party.

All is not well in the camps of the BJP, and the problems started soon after the suicide of party member Indrani Tahbildar, as compromising pictures of her with a senior member of the party were leaked online. Demanding proper punishments for everyone involved in the incident, the former state president of the party, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, wrote to the current state president, Bhabesh Kalita, after he was dragged into the controversy. Several senior leaders of the party also made public comments after the incident, saying that they had been sidelined by the new members and that they no longer had any say in the affairs of the government, with Rajen Gohain being the newest name on that list.

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