NEW DELHI, Aug 5 - Before the critical vote on Jammu and Kashmir in Rajya Sabha on Monday, Congress MP Bhubaneswar Kalita announced his resignation from the Upper House taking his partymen by surprise. RS Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced in the House that he has received a letter dated August 5 from Kalita resigning his seat. �I have accepted his resignation with immediate effect, after having met him personally and verifying his handwriting,� Naidu said.
Party sources said Kalita may have done so under pressure from the BJP amid speculation that he was planning to quit the Congress and join the saffron party to reclaim the Rajya Sabha seat.
Kalita�s term was till 2020.
However, talking to this newspaper, Kalita dismissed the allegations and said that he was not going to leave the Congress and join the BJP.
Asked about the reasons behind his unexpected move, Kalita said he was upset with the developments in the Congress party. �The spirit with which we worked in the party is dead and I was left with no option but to quit,� he said.
Circulation of an unsigned note written in Hindi, allegedly by Kalita, also added to the mystery. Kalita denied having written the note, which was picked up by several media outlets. The note quoted Kalita as having said that he had quit because of the Congress stand on Article 370.
A senior leader of Assam Congress, Kalita had served in several important committees, including as chairman of the Rajya Sabha Housing Committee. Kalita had also served as a member of the Assam Assembly and was a former State minister.
Meanwhile, the BJP has stationed its main troubleshooter Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Delhi to handle the MPs belonging to the Northeast. He was seen in the Central Hall interacting with the MPs from the region.
Later, he reportedly called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his Parliament House office.
