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.
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.
Shekhar posted the two letters on Facebook, addressed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and party state president Dilip 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.
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.
“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. In the future, I will not be affiliated with any political party,” he said in his Facebook post.
