Punjab BJP general secretary Jagmohan Singh Raju resigns, wants to work on ‘public issues’

Chandigarh: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab general secretary Jagmohan Singh Raju, a retired IAS officer, has resigned from his party post, days after Kewal Singh Dhillon took over as the state unit chief.In a letter addressed to BJP Punjab general secretary (organisation) Manthri Srinivasulu Garu, and marked to Dhillon, Raju said he wished to step back from organisational duties to focus on public issues. The June 5 letter was shared on Raju's social media accounts on Sunday.Raju said that while discharging his organisational responsibilities, he had also been "actively working on a number of public issues". Describing these as matters of immense long-term importance to Punjab and the nation, he said he now wished to "devote himself more extensively" to them.Among the key issues cited by Raju were securing the ‘Holy City' status for Amritsar, providing educational support to Punjab's youth, and protecting the educational rights of poor children under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. He also referred to his efforts to safeguard the constitutional rights of scheduled castes and Sikhs, address religious conversions, combat drug abuse and advocate prohibition, promote the primacy of the Punjabi language, and resolve pending issues such as Punjab's water rights and the status of Chandigarh. "I also propose to undertake extensive public outreach, research, writing, legal interventions and mass contact programmes relating to these and related issues," he said.Stating that these initiatives would require considerable time, travel and sustained engagement, Raju added, "In all fairness, I doubt if I would be able to devote the requisite time and attention necessary to effectively discharge a major organisational responsibility while simultaneously pursuing these commitments.""I would, therefore, be grateful if, for the present, I may kindly be spared of any organisational responsibility that demands my full time," the letter stated.Dhillon was appointed Punjab BJP president on May 28, succeeding Sunil Jakhar. He assumed charge during an installation ceremony at the party headquarters in Chandigarh last week.