A leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party from Assam has been suspended purportedly over her Facebook post supporting Rohingya Muslim refugees, reported The Times of India. Bharatiya Janata Party Mazdoor Morcha member Benazir Arfan (pictured above; centre) claimed she had been “arbitrarily” suspended without getting the chance to explain herself.
“I being a victim of triple talaq, have all along been campaigning in support of the [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi government’s stand against triple talaq,” Arfan said. “Now my own party, with which I have been associated for many years, has spelt the talaq on me. I have been insulted and will take this issue up at the highest level of the party,” Arfan told News18.
Arfan had participated in a meeting organised by Guwahati-based non-governmental organisation United Minority Peoples Forum in in solidarity with the refugees. She had posted on Facebook asking for people’s support. On Thursday, Assam Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Dilip Saikia reportedly sent a letter to Arfan suspending her from the party with immediate effect.
“As this [the meeting] is against the party’s principles and ideals, BJP state president Ranjit Kumar Das has instructed the suspension and relieving her from all responsibilities of the party,” News18 quoted the letter as saying. Attempts to contact Das were futile, News18 reported.
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