Assam TMC president Ripun Bora quits party

Guwahati: Assam Trinamool Congress president Ripun Bora on Sunday resigned from the party, claiming that the people of the northeastern state consider it as a "regional party" of West Bengal and are "not willing to accept" it as their own.

In a letter to All India Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, the former Rajya Sabha member said he had offered many suggestions to party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to make TMC acceptable in Assam, but those were "not implemented".

"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," Bora said in his resignation letter.

He claimed that he had suggested the need for an Assamese leader at the national level of TMC, declaring the residence of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika at Tollygunge in Kolkata as a heritage site and converting the Madhupur Satra at Cooch Behar into a cultural hub.

"Despite my repeated attempts over the past year and a half to secure an appointment with you and our chief Mamata Didi to address these concerns, I have been unsuccessful," said Bora, former Assam minister and state Congress president.

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," Bora added.