The sitting BJP MP from Bharuch in Gujarat Mansukh Vasava resigned from the party on Tuesday and will soon submit his resignation as an MP to the Lok Sabha speaker.
Vasava has not given any official reason for his resignation from the party and Lok Sabha. In his resignation letter, he said that he did not want to hurt the image of the party.
Vasava was a six-time MP and former Union minister. Sources in the BJP say he was unhappy with the Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani for not taking action against people who were allegedly smuggling tribal girls and pushing them into various illegal trades.
"Besides, he had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him not to declare Statue of Unity area as an eco-sensitive zone because the tribal people from the area were finding it tough to follow the eco-sensitive zone norms. Their livelihoods were also hampered. Therefore, he was upset with the party and concerned about the rights and welfare of the tribal community. His word was not honoured in the party despite working hard and developing and expanding the BJP in a Congress stronghold like Bharuch. Congress president Sonia Gandhi's personal secretary Ahmed Patel also came from that area," said a party source.