Gujarat BJP’s most senior parliamentarian and former Union Minister Mansukh Vasava on Tuesday resigned from the party over a MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) notification declaring 121 villages of Narmada district as ‘eco-sensitive zone’ in his constituency, Bharuch.
The prominent tribal leader said he would resign from the Lok Sabha in the budget session of Parliament.
Mr. Vasava, who belongs to the Vajpayee-Advani era of the BJP, has been a Lok Sabha member since 1998.
He decided to resign from the party a week after he wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the withdrawal of the Ministry notification.
Mr. Vasava has been very vocal about the rights of the tribal people in Bharuch and Narmada districts .
Last week, he wrote to Mr. Modi, seeking his intervention to withdraw the Ministry order in the “interest of farmers and local tribals.”
In his resignation letter to State BJP president C.R. Paatil, Mr. Vasava said, “I am resigning so that the image of party is not damaged because of my mistakes. I have been a loyal worker of the party. I will also submit my resignation to the Lok Sabha speaker during the budget session of the parliament.”
He posted the letter on his social media accounts besides sharing it with the local press.
Slams bureaucracy
Mr. Vasava has slammed the local bureaucracy. “In the name of the notification of the MoEFCC, government officials have begun interfering in the private properties of tribal people. The tribal people in Narmada have not been taken into confidence or given an understanding of the issue, which has created fear and mistrust among them. They are preparing for protests and some Opposition parties are leveraging and even inciting the locals against the government,” the letter stated.
He sought the withdrawal of the notification to restore “peace and order in the area.”
He added, “The area around the Statue of Unity in Narmada district is fast developing due to the tourism projects. However, it is my humble request that the area should be removed from the purview of the eco-sensitive zone to allay the fears of the local communities and for the benefit of the tribals and their rights. It will also help mitigate the opposition of the tribals who are on protests here.”
Mr. Paatil told media persons that the party leaders would “persuade” Mansukhbhai to withdraw his resignation. When contacted, Mr Vasava said he resigned because he wanted to retire from active politics.
Published - December 29, 2020 02:55 pm IST
