Indore: Angry with Uttar Pradesh CM and BJP star campaigner Yogi Adityanath’s ‘Ali vs Bajrangbali’ comment, several office-bearers and workers from the minority community have walked out of the saffron party.
Among those who resigned were BJP Rau Nagar vice-president Sonu Ansari, vice-president of Maharana Pratap Mandal Danish Ansari, mandal vice-president Aman Memon, Indore BJP minority cell members Anis Khan and Riyaz Ansari.
The common grouse among those who relinquished party membership was that the Uttar Pradesh CM dragged religion into the election narrative while the state BJP was focusing on Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s development schemes.
Speaking to News18, BJP Minority Cell state vice-president Nasir Shah said, “I will write letters to party chief Amit Shah and state head Rakesh Singh briefing them about the public sentiments and party workers’ views on the matter on Wednesday.”
Another senior office-bearer, Irfan Mansoori, echoed similar views, saying the party initiated several welfare schemes which can be talked instead of religion and caste. “Be it Ladli Laxmi Yojana, Teerth Darshan Yojana or the PM Housing Scheme, they benefitted all and could be boasted of to seek votes.”
Aman Memon, one of the leaders who quit the party, said, “We toil hard for four years but such remarks alienate us from the community… After senior leaders like Yogi Adityanath resort to such remarks, we can’t turn to our community and seek votes. As a result, we also can’t contribute to the party afterwards.”
Yogi Adityanath had made the offending remark during an election rally in Rau as a retort to senior Congress leader Kamal Nath. “Let them (Congress) keep Ali, we have Bajrangbali,” he had said.
A BJP spokesperson from Indore, however, has dismissed reports of dissent, saying the party is like a family and that concerns of party workers would be addressed.
Comments
0 comment