Gujarat Congress MLA resigns, was ‘upset’ over party stance on Ram Mandir event

Senior Congress MLA in Gujarat CJ Chavda resigned from the Assembly membership on Friday, saying that he was ‘upset’ with the party’s approach towards Ram Mandir.

The three-time MLA from the Vijapur constituency submitted his resignation to Speaker Shankar Chaudhary in Gandhinagar in the morning, the official of the State Assembly said.

On his resignation from Congress, CJ Chavda said, “I have resigned from Congress. I have worked in Congress for 25 years. The reason is that when the people of the whole country are joyous because of the Pran Pratishtha at Ram Mandir and there is a wave of joy among the people, instead of being a part of that wave of joy, the approach that this party (Congress) has shown is the reason for being upset.”

“We should support the works and policies of the two huge leaders of Gujarat PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. But I would not have been able to do that while being in Congress. Hence, I resigned,” he added.

With Chavda’s departure, the Congress party’s count in the 182-member Gujarat assembly now stands at 15. He is expected to join the BJP. However, there’s no confirmation yet. Earlier, Congress MLA from Khambhat in Anand district, Chirag Patel, had also resigned from the Assembly.

Meanwhile, the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony at the Ram Temple will be held on January 22. The temple is expected to be opened to the public the next day.