TNI Bureau: The rift within the BJP seems to be widening as Sanjay Joshi has resigned from the party on Friday. He was removed from the national executive meet last month on Narendra Modi’s demand.
Joshi resigned as the party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. He requested party president Nitin Gadkari to relive him from the party. However, BJP denied any rift in the saffron party, but party President Nitin Gadkari has accepted Joshi’s resignation.
“Sanjay Joshi was never asked to resign, he might have given the resignation on his own. People join a political party, leave and then join back. These things do happen in political parties. This is normal in democracy,” party’s spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said.
Meanwhile, Joshi made it clear that Modi was behind his resignation as he was the big critic of the Gujarat Chief Minister. BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi attacked Modi indirectly saying no one should try to hijack the party and the party is bigger than any individual.
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Talking to an English daily The Economic Times, Sushil Modi said that the way Joshi was dropped from the party was not right and Gadkari should not succumb to pressure from any individual.
His resignation comes a day before the party’s two day executive meet is beginning in Rajkot from Saturday.
Even the poster and pamphlets for the meet were seen praising Joshi and criticisng Modi in Ahmedabad and Rajkot. The new posters the BJP’s logo and read ‘Perform Rajdharma, Prajadharma and partydharma’.
Earlier, Joshi had to quit as BJP National General Secretary after Modi decided to skip the national executive meet, which was held in Mumbai last month.