GUWAHATI, Feb 16: Former Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Kumar Borah on Monday morning submitted his resignation to the AICC, only to seek some time to reconsider decision, hours after the AICC high command “refused to accept” his resignation and urged him to stay in the party.
Addressing media persons at Borah’s residence here after a marathon meeting with the veteran Congress leader, AICC leader and Assam in-charge, Jitendra Singh said the party high command has not accepted Borah’s resignation letter.
“In this regard, the party leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, as well as the senior leaders in the APCC, have had a discussion with Bhupen Borah. We in the Congress are like a family and if there is any difference of opinion within the family, we ensure that such differences are ironed out,” Singh said.
Notably, Singh, along with a party delegation comprising Assam PCC chief Gaurav Gogoi, and senior party leaders, Debabrata Saikia, Pradyot Bordoloi and Ripun Bora, had visited Borah’s residence in a bid to persuade him to reconsider his decision, which has come at a crucial time when there are less than two months left for the Assembly elections.
Borah, in his address to the media, said, “Since the party leadership has urged me to reconsider my resignation from the party, I have decided to take some time to arrive at a final decision. I also need to discuss the matter with my family members and will let the party leadership know as soon as I make the decision.”
When asked about the reason for his resignation, the former Assam PCC president, who has been in the Congress for 32 years, said he has cited the reasons for his decision in his resignation letter but said he would not reveal the reasons before the media now.
“When the time is right, I will reveal everything,” Borah had informed mediapersons earlier, after sending his resignation letter in the morning.
Unconfirmed reports said that Borah had decided to quit from the party “considering his self-respect” after his views within the party were not given due regard within the Congress’ state unit. He however said that he would remain in active politics.
‘Borah welcome to join BJP’
Earlier in the day, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Borah’s resignation was “not a surprise” while saying that the Congress leader would be welcomed to the BJP if he wished so.
“We will welcome him to the BJP if he decides to join the party and give him a ‘safe seat’ to contest the Assembly elections,” Sarma said.
“The position of the Congress in Assam is terrible. In many district Congress offices in the state, meetings begin with a religious prayer from a particular community. So, Bhupen Borah’s resignation carries a symbolic message that Congress has lost its last Hindu leader,” the chief minister said.
