Only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can give the country a self-made person like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former party national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said on Friday, hours after he quit the party.
“The rest will only promote their children and dynasties,” he said on X, in an apparent reference to the Opposition who have often been accused of indulging in dynastic politics.
The BJP “remains the best bet for the youth”, the former BJP leader said, remarks that came against the backdrop of the recent protests, mostly by students, at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against the NEET-UG paper leak last month that ultimately led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister.
Poonawalla reposted a video in which he made the above remarks in an interview.
Earlier in the day, Poonawalla updated his X bio with no mention of his BJP in it. His current bio, a screenshot of which he shared on the micro-blogging site, says:”Religion, Islam, Culture, Hindu, ideology-Bhartiya, Author: GST ki Yatra; Lifelong follower of PM Narendra Modi”.
This comes days after he hinted at his exit from the BJP, saying time has come to move on from active politics.
Sources told CNN-News18 that Poonawalla tendered his resignation to the top brass of the BJP and cited personal reasons behind the decision.
Poonawalla joined the BJP after quitting theCongress following a fallout over the party’s presidential election process in 2017. After joining the BJP, he was elevated to the position of national spokesperson.
Poonawalla has been a staunch supporter of PM Modi. He has repeatedly attacked the Congress and criticised its leaders, including party MP Rahul Gandhi.