SURAT / GANDHINAGAR: BJP senior member and Bharuch Mansukh MP Vasava resigned from the party on Tuesday citing personal and health reasons, just days after he wrote to the prime minister requesting the withdrawal of a notice declaring 121 villages of Narmada District an “eco-sensitive zone”.
He had expressed apprehension and concern that the tribal population in the district would lose employment opportunities due to the notification.
His resignation is likely to negatively affect the fate of BJP in upcoming local body polls in the tribal belt, where Chhotu Vasava’s Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) and AIMIM have already formed an alliance. In his letter to Gujarat Party Chief CR PaatilVasava wrote: “I thank the BJP high command and the party for giving me everything they could. I have always been faithful to the game. I am a human being and mistakes happen. I have resigned from the party so that my mistake does not harm it. I pray that the party will forgive me and I will meet with the Speaker in person during the budget session and resign Lok Sabha. ”
“I have been a BJP deputy for six terms. I am not upset with the party or with the government, but I have been suffering severe pain in my back for some time and I cannot travel, “he said Tuesday, adding that it is because of his illness that I have not been able to attend. Parliament sessions.
Vasava often took positions that put the state government in awkward situations. He had publicly opposed the acquisition of land around the Statue of Unity, the eviction of small merchants along the main Kevadiya road, and even declaring the area around the statue an eco-sensitive zone. It has also raised the issue of fake tribal certificates that people have been using to secure admission and government jobs.
Many officials, including the president, secretary and 27 other members of the BJP’s Sagbara unit in Narmada, have resigned in their support. The head of the party, Paatil, declined to confirm the news, saying: “Mansukhbhai has not resigned. He said he will resign during the budget session in Delhi. ”
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