Assam BJP leader Prodyut Bora quits party, brings Modi in line of fire

Guwahati: BJP National Executive Committee member from Assam Prodyut Bora resigned from BJP alleging subversion of democratic tradition in the central government and the party and bringing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his confidante Amit Shah in the firing line.

Bora, in his four-page letter to BJP president Amit Shah, cited the causes for his resignation as the party was reportedly considering induction of Congress rebel and former minister Himanta Biswa Sarma into the party and move to make Siddhartha Bhattacharya as BJP Assam unit president.

Bora questioned if Modi has "damaged" the democratic tradition of the country. "Today, the Foreign Minister barely knows that the Foreign Secretary is about to get fired; cabinet ministers cannot even appoint their own OSDs (Officers on Special Duty); and power is increasingly being centralised in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). This makes me wonder: does the cabinet system still exist in this country?"

"I am mortified to see that no cabinet minister, no national office bearer, no member of Parliament has demonstrated the courage to question Modiji on the subversion of this fine democratic tradition," he stated.

Bora, a graudate of St Stephens College, Delhi and an IIM, Ahmedabad, passout, also questioned Amit Shah's "highly centralized style of decision-making" that "has ensured that many party office bearers feel highly dis-empowered".

"Moreover, in any organisation, the style of the leader is quickly copied by those below him/her. What I am seeing in the party - at least in my state- is the flowering of junior Amit Shahs, with a tenth of your capability and ten times your arrogance", he charged.

Referring to Assam, Bora said the state "still wonders" after nine months what happened to the announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaign here that should BJP come to power Bangladeshis (illegal migrants) have to pack their bags.

Bora, who had unsuccessfully contested against Himanta Biswa Sarma in the last Assembly election, said, "I do not have any faith in the political integrity of many of our MPs and MLAs."

And to think that the party hopes to win the 2016 Vidhan Sabha elections with these fifth-columnists at the helm!"