Gujarat Congress veteran Arjun Modhwadia quits, 'felt helpless'
In a letter to Mallikarjun Kharge, Arjun Modhwadia mentioned that he had voiced dissent when the Congress decided to decline the invitation for the inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 11.
In Short
- Senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia resigns from party after 40 years
- He says in resignation letter he felt "helpless to contribute to the people"
- Modhwadia says Congress "failed to assess the sentiments of the people"
Senior Congress leader and Porbandar MLA Arjun Modhwadia resigned from the party after 40 years.
He submitted his resignation as the MLA to the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha speaker on Monday.
Modhwadia sent a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge informing him of the resignation from the party. He said that he felt "helpless to contribute to the people" and hence he resigned from the party.
He shared the letter and said in a post on X, "I hereby relieve myself from all roles and responsibilities of the Indian National Congress party."
"Over and above since last few years, I found myself helpless to contribute to the people of my district Porbandar and the state of Gujarat," the MLA said in the letter.
He mentioned that he had voiced dissent when the Congress decided to decline the invitation for the inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 11.
Notably, the Congress party had declined the invitation for the inauguration of Ram temple on January 10 and called it an "RSS/BJP event".
Calling Lord Ram the "Aastha of Bharat", he said that the Congress had hurt "the sentiments of the people" and the party had "failed to assess the sentiments of the people".
He said in the letter, "I have met scores of people who were offended in the manner in which the Congress party insulted Lord Ram by boycotting the Mahotsav in Ayodhya."
The former MLA said that Rahul Gandhi "attempted to create ruckus in Assam" to further "distract and humiliate" the Pran Pratishta ceremony.
"To further distract and humiliate this pious occasion, Rahul Gandhi attempted to create ruckus in Assam which further angered our party cadres and citizens of Bharat," he said.
"I am thankful to the party leadership and its karyakartas for their affection towards me over the last four decades," he added in the letter.
Modhwadia was a former Gujarat Congress president and former leader of the opposition. He became a two-time MLA when he was elected from Porbandar in 2022 Assembly elections.