Assam TMC president Ripun Bora resigns from the party

Guwahati: In a significant political development, Assam Trinamool Congress president Ripun Bora on Sunday resigned from the party, claiming that the people of northeast view it as a regional party of West Bengal and are not willing to accept it as their own.

In his resignation letter to All India Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Mr Bora expressed his frustration. He noted that numerous suggestions offered to party leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to mitigate this perception was ignored.

He mentioned that despite numerous suggestions to party leader Mamata Banerjee, aimed at making TMC more acceptable in Assam, none were executed. “Assam TMC has great potential but several recurring issues have hindered our progress, including the perception of TMC as a regional party of West Bengal. To counter this perception, we made several suggestions, such as the need for an Assamese leader at the national level, declaring the residence of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika at Tollygunge as a heritage site, and converting the Madhupur Satra at Cooch Behar (the place from where Assam’s greatest social reformer Mahapurush Sankar Dev started the Vaishnavite movement) into a cultural hub”, Mr Bora said in his resignation letter.

“Despite my repeated attempts over the past year and a half to secure an appointment with you and our chief minister Mamata Didi to address these concerns, I have been unsuccessful”, he added.

He said that he has served as the state president of Assam TMC for over two years and during this period, he interacted extensively with people across the state. “Unfortunately, the issues mentioned above have led many people in Assam to continue viewing TMC as a regional party of West Bengal. The people of Assam are not willing to accept a party that they perceive as being from another state.

“In light of these challenges and the lack of an adequate resolution, I feel compelled to make a difficult decision and have decided to disassociate myself from TMC,” Mr Bora added.

He also thanked Mamata Banerjee for her leadership and expressed his resolve to continue fighting communal and fascist forces on a personal level.

Mr Bora however lauded her for the “uncompromising fight against fascist and communal forces”.