Assam: Singer Simanta Shekhar quits BJP, won’t join any political party

Eminent Assamese singer and composer Simanta Shekhar on Tuesday quit as the chairperson of Assam State Film (Finance and Development) Corporation and resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state executive committee and primary membership of the party.

Shekhar posted the two letters on Facebook, addressed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and party state president Dilip Saikia.

The singer-composer thanked Sarma for the opportunity to head the Film Finance and Development Corporation and added that the association and guidance from the CM will remain a memorable experience.

“I thank the party’s seniors, colleagues and workers for the experience, love, respect and support received from them during my association with the party,” he siad in his letter to Saikia.

“This decision has been taken completely for my deepest personal reason. This has nothing to do with any political views, policy or individual dissatisfaction. In the future, I will not be affiliated with any political party,” he said in his Facebook post.

Shekhar’s decision came days after he criticised party MLA Vijay Kumar Gupta’s comments on Assamese cultural icon Zubeen Garg, whose first death anniversary was commemorated on September 19.

In an interaction with journalists, Gupta incorrectly said Garg had sung around 3,000 songs, which triggered sharp criticism and led the MLA to issue an apology. The late singer-composer had sung over 40,000 songs over more than three decades.

In a post on Facebook on September 20, Shekhar was among those who told the MLA to learn “about Zubeen Garg and his contributions to Assamese society and culture before making such comments before the media”.

“You could be from the BJP, but that doesn’t mean we will support your ill-informed and illogical comments about a legend like Zubeen Garg. Our culture, our emotions and our respect for our cultural icons are above politics. At least maintain that respect while talking about Zubeen Da,” he added.

On Monday, Shekhar declared on Facebook that he would not hold back and would live like Zubeen, who was always vocal about issues and never feared opposing politicians or party ideologies.