Poonia's 22-yr-old letter goes viral amid rift in Raj BJP

Jaipur, June 29 Factionalism in Rajasthan BJP took a new turn with a three-page resignation letter penned by state unit chief Satish Poonia 22 years back going viral on social media.

The letter has created a political stir in the desert state, drawing interesting remarks from the anti-Poonia camp led by former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

The entire episode has once again exposed the factionalism in the saffron camp on different social media platforms.

The letter was written by Poonia when he was holding the post of state unit chief of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and had resigned after being denied an election ticket in 1999.

In the letter addressed to then Rajasthan BJP President Gulab Chand Kataria, Poonia had termed veteran leaders like Rajendra Rathore and Ram Singh Kaswa as ‘Bhasmasura', besides accusing former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Harishankar Bhabhda and Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi of ‘backstabbing' him.

In Hindu mythology, ‘Bhasmasura' was a demon who was granted the power to burn up and immediately turn into ashes anyone whose head he touched with his hand.

Meanwhile, Poonia has taken the incident in a lighter note, saying, "A 22-year-old letter getting released at this time is a wonderful story of strange politics. In those days also, I had represented ordinary leaders and today too, I stand with the ordinary workers. The party leadership has given me an important responsibility after I put my words on the party forum. I have been faithfully discharging my duties."

Meanwhile, former minister from the Raje camp, Rohitash Sharma, who was recently issued a show-cause notice for ‘anti-party' activities, said, "How can a person who openly flouted all limits of discipline teach discipline to anyone."

Sharma was issued the show-cause notice after he was accused of speaking against the party during a meeting in Alwar.

The saffron party's in-charge for Rajasthan, Arun Singh, during his recent trip to Jaipur had said that those speaking against the party will be penalized. Just a day after his announcement, the show-cause notice was issued to Sharma who is yet to file his response in the matter.

There is a buzz in the political circles here that Poonia's letter resurfacing after 22 works is the handiwork of his rival camp, which is trying to show the state BJP President in poor light, said a person belonging to the Poonia camp.

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