In a major setback to the Congress ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Gujarat Congress Working President and former Rajula MLA Ambrish Der as well as Porbandar MLA and veteran leader Arjun Modhwadia resigned from the party Monday. Both leaders cited the Congress leadership turning down the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya on January 22 for their decision to dissociate with the grand old party. The resignations come days before Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is to enter Gujarat on March 7. While Der announced that he will be joining the BJP Tuesday, Modhwadia, who submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary, said he would decide "on his new political life after consulting his friends and supporters". Before tendering his resignation as an MLA, Modhwadia resigned from all Congress posts while sending the resignation letter to party president Mallikarjun Kharge. “As you may be aware, on January 11, 2024, I voiced my dissent when the Congress party leadership declined the invitation to the Balak Ram Pranpratishtha Mahotsav in Ayodhya. Prabhu Ram is not just pujaniya to Hindus, but he is the Aastha of Bharat. By declining the invitation to witness pran pratishtha mahotsav.the Congress as a party failed to assess the sentiments of the people," the Porbandar MLA stated in his resignation letter. He added that he also met scores of people who were offended by the manner in which the Congress "insulted Lord Ram by boycotting the Mahotsav in Ayodhya". Going a step further, the legislator, among the senior-most and influential opposition leaders of Gujarat, targeted Rahul Gandhi for creating "ruckus" in Assam on the day of the consecration. "To further distract and humiliate this pious occasion, Rahul Gandhi attempted to create ruckus in Assam which further angered our party cadres and citizens of Bharat. Hence, it is with a heavy heart that I am resigning from all positions of the Congress party." Interacting with media persons after tendering his resignation, Modhwadia said he had been feeling "suffocated" in the Congress for the past some time and was feeling relieved after the resignation. The leader, who has been associated with the Congress for almost 40 years, also stressed that when a party detaches with people, it becomes an NGO. Der, who resigned earlier in the day, echoed similar views saying, it was necessary to differentiate between the work of a political party and an NGO. Terming Congress's stand on the Ram Mandir issue "unreasonable", Der said, "I have been a people's representative for five years and I have raised people's issues. Political parties may have different ideologies but the intention is the same — the service of the people. If people have desired something for over 500 years and when the justice system of the country has delivered a verdict by taking into confidence all stakeholders involved, not attending the event was unreasonable. I have said this clearly and sincerely before and I am saying it now too. I had communicated it to the Congress". The veteran leader resigned shortly after a meeting with state BJP president C. R. Paatil, who called upon Der to enquire about the health of his mother, although the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) said it had suspended the former MLA on Sunday "for anti-party activities". However, Der said, "I have not received any suspension letter. But I have resigned from the post. I have sent an email as well as a fax to the GPCC president (Shaktisinh Gohil). I have served the people of Gujarat as a Congress MLA. I have fearlessly put forth my points as a Congress leader in the past— whether it is the issue of Ram temple, Article 370 or any other matter." Der, who began his political career from the BJP's youth wing, said he had "deferred" his departure from the Congress despite getting invitations from the BJP on several occasions. "The BJP state president (Paatil) had been extending an invitation to me (to join the BJP) for the past three years, including one from a public dais ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls in 2022. But I was not keen on switching over. But, I did not feel it was right the way (Congress) reacted to the Ram Temple and that the sentiments of the people were not considered." Der, however, emphasised that there has been "no deal" for a post or a ticket in the probable bypolls in Rajula as the sitting BJP MLA is expected to be fielded for the Lok Sabha polls. "There is no deal in places where sentiments are attached. I am joining the BJP for sentimental reasons," Der said. Earlier in the day, when asked why Congress leaders were jumping ship to the BJP, GPCC president Gohil, said, “The BJP should be asked. When you (BJP) are doing such good work, you have such a huge team, what is such a need that you have to take Congress leaders who have abused you immensely. You take them not only to make them BJP members but ministers, Rajya Sabha members, MLAs, etc. If somebody is leaving the Congress and he gets nothing there, then you can say that something is missing in the Congress that they cannot stop their leaders. But when you got everything here, the party made you a hero, why does the cadre-based party need to take them. This question should be asked to them". On Der's resignation, Gohil said, "The reasons that he told me in person, I cannot say that in public". Gohil then denied that Modhwadia was quitting the party. "Yesterday Madhusudan Mistry and Arjun Modhwadia were in Godhra. They held a meeting for Rahul Gandhi's visit. This morning, too, he talked to me over the phone and said he has visited Godhra and held the meeting, preparations are well, workers are excited," he said. However, Modhwadia later confirmed his resignation. With Modhwadia's resignation, the opposition party's strength has reduced to 14 in the 182-member Assembly.
