Guwahati, Jan 14: Barely three days after joining the Congress, former All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) president Rejaul Karim Sarkar submitted his resignation from the Opposition party, alleging “deep ideological and moral” differences with the party’s senior leadership.
Notably, a controversial statement made by Sarkar, immediately after joining the Congress at a joining programme here on Sunday, had sparked a controversy across Assam, when he spoke about “turning Sivasagar to Dhubri, Dhubri to Sivasagar, Barak to Sivasagar, Tinsukia to Dhubri” in the context of building a “Greater Assam or Bor Asom”.
In the resignation letter, addressed to Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi, Sarkar said he had joined the Indian National Congress inspired by its secular values, inclusive ideology, and its historic commitment to constitutional principles.
“However, recent statements and public positions adopted by certain senior leaders, particularly the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, Debabrata Saikia, and honourable MP from Nagaon, Pradyut Bordoloi, have caused me deep moral and ideological anguish. Their stance on recent issues has, in my considered view, demoralised me and maligned my image in the public for a,” the former AAMSU leader stated.
“In these circumstances, I find it difficult to continue my association with the party in presence of BJP agents like Debabrata Saikia and Pradyut Bordoloi. Accordingly, while wishing the Indian National Congress all success in the future, I hereby tender my resignation from the primary membership of the party with immediate effect,” he stated.
Himanta reacts
Asked about his reaction to the development, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while terming the former AAMSU leader’s move as secondary, criticised Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, saying that he should have sacked Sarkar from the party even before the latter could submit his resignation letter.
“Now, after his resignation, he can claim himself to be a hero. As the party chief, Gaurav Gogoi should have removed Sarkar from the party in the first place, but he failed to do so. He did not have the courage to sack him (after his controversial remark),” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Karbi Anglong on Wednesday.
