GUWAHATI: The BJP suffered yet another blow in poll-bound and Christian-majority Meghalaya where a senior leader resigned from the party, protesting the Centre's cattle slaughter rules.
Within hours after tendering his resignation on Monday evening, Bachu Marak, who was BJP's district president of North Garo Hills, took the party head on, accusing it of being anti-Christian and anti-Garos (tribesmen in western Meghalaya).
His exit came five days after the resignation of his predecessor, Bernard Marak. He had quit the party over the beef ban. He announced that he would organise a beef party in Garo Hills on June 10.
"I resigned from BJP as it dishonoured my culture and traditional practice. The Garos eat beef on every occasion. So, they won't accept any restriction on its consumption. I have to protect their interests. I respect their sentiments," Bachu Marak said.
In New Delhi, the party's Meghalaya in-charge, Nalin Kohli described the reports that his party wanted to impose beef ban in the State, as "false and malicious untruth". He blamed the ruling Congress for it.
Marak said 4,532 BJP workers, including district and mandal committee leaders, had resigned from the party along with him, and all of them would participate in the proposed beef party.
Last week, he had drawn the ire of Nalin Kohli following his Facebook post proposing a bitchi (rice beer)-cum-beef party in Garo Hills to mark the Narendra Modi government's three years in office.
He had been instrumental in helping BJP spread its tentacles to Garo Hills. The Garos are at large miffed over the cattle slaughter rules and there is a possibility that many BJP workers will desert the party ahead of next year's Meghalaya elections.