'Public first, party second': Manipuri actor Rajkumar Kaiku resigns from BJP

Unhappy over the handling of the four-month ethnic conflict in Manipur, well-known Manipuri actor Rajkumar Kaiku has resigned from primary membership of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

His resignation came a day after the BJP government extended the controversial Armed Forces Special Prevention Act (AFSPA) in Manipur for the next six months.

Kaiku’s resignation, according to media reports, was triggered by the killing of two students. He sent his resignation letter to the state leadership on the afternoon of Thursday, 28 September. Northeast media reported that the BJP leadership tried to persuade the actor to remain in the party but he didn’t budge.

A day earlier, on the evening of 27 September, Kaiku said, “My priority is public first and party second, for which my mind was inclined to side with the public in these hard times. It is disheartening to notice that the government is yet to take up proactive measures to resolve the unceasing public disorder besetting the state for more than four months now.

“To be honest, I joined the BJP thinking that the party would bring a significant change in our state with its double-engine government. Of course, it brought changes in different sectors such as tourism under CM N. Biren Singh. With this in mind, I thought the central leaders would act swiftly over the ongoing issue and put an end to the conflict, and trusted them. But the central leaders seem to be paying no attention to the pain and misery of the people, and they have gone against every expectation of the people,” he said.