KOLKATA: Former Union minister and BJP Lok Sabha MP from Asansol, Babul Supriyo, on Saturday announced that he has decided to quit politics.
In a Facebook post in Bengali, the singer-turned-politician clarified that he is neither joining any other party, nor has he been contacted by any political party, adding that he has always been a "one team player".
Beginning the Facebook post with ‘Alvida' (goodbye) – the two-time MP from Asansol wrote, "I listened to everybody - father, (mother), wife, daughter, a couple of dear friends .. after hearing everything, I say that I am not going to any other party - #TMC, #Congress, #CPIM, nowhere - Confirm, no one called me, I am not going anywhere. I am a one Team Player! Have always supported one team #MohunBagan - Have done only party -- BJP West Bengal .. That's it!. Lets go."
"If you want to do social work, you can do it without being in politics, " Supriyo said, adding: "Over the past few days, I have repeatedly taken the decision to leave politics to Hon'ble Amit Shah and Hon'ble Naddaji and I am eternally grateful to them for inspiring me in every way."
"I will never forget their love and so I will never again show them the audacity to say the same thing again - especially when I have decided long ago what my 'I' wants to do. So to repeat the same thing again, somewhere they may think that I am 'bargaining' for a 'position'. That's not true at all, " he said.
Surpiyo, who is having some rough time with the state BJP leadership and had lost the ministry recently, didn't hide his grudge in the post.
"The question is why I left politics? Does it have anything to do with leaving the ministry? Yes, there is -- there must be something! I don't want to panic, so it will be right as soon as he answers the question - it will give me peace too. There is a big difference between 2014 and 2019, " he wrote.
"I was the only BJP ticket then (with due respect to Ahluwaliaji - GJM was BJP's ally in the Darjeeling seat), but today the BJP is the main opposition party in Bengal. There are many bright, young Turkish leaders in the party today as well as many old witty leaders, " he said.
"Needless to say, the team led by them will go a long way from here. I have no hesitation in saying that it is clear that it is not a big deal to have an individual in the party today and it is my firm belief that accepting it will be the right decision, " he added.
Keeping everyone guessing about his next move, Supriyo said, "I don't believe I went anywhere - I was with 'me' - so I'm going somewhere and I won't say that today. I did the same when I left my job at Standard Chartered Bank in 1992 and fled to Mumbai, I did it today!!!"
Surpiyo ended the post with the phrase -- "Lets Go".
Surpiyo, however, made it clear that his decision of quitting the party is the result of his differences with the state BJP leadership.
"Another thing. even before the vote, there were disagreements with the state leadership on some issues - it may have happened but some issues were coming out in public."
"Somewhere, I am responsible for it (I put up a Facebook post which falls into the category of party discipline) and somewhere else, other leaders are also very responsible, although I don't want to go into who is responsible today - but the disagreement and quarrel of senior leaders is hurting the party, " he said.
"Even then, the knowledge of 'rocket science' is not needed to understand that it was not helping the morale of the party workers in any way. At the moment, it is completely unwelcome, so I am leaving with immense gratitude and love to the people of Asansol, " he added.