'Rahul Gandhi said he is also feeling humiliated': Bhupen Borah on resignation and stadium plan

Days after resigning from the party, former Assam Congress President Bhupen Borah on Thursday said Rahul Gandhi told him that he too felt "humiliated" when Borah raised the issue of his own treatment within the party.

Borah, who resigned on Monday and is set to join the BJP on February 22, described the conversation he had with the senior Congress leader. Gandhi called Borah after the latter stepped down. "I had told Rahul Gandhi that I am feeling humiliated in the party, and then he said that he was also feeling humiliated. Then what is the value of my humiliation? I cannot tolerate such humiliation as I do not have so much capacity," Borah told news agency PTI.

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He said the call from Gandhi came after his resignation and recalled telling him that he could no longer continue under such circumstances.

Borah's resignation is seen as a setback for the Congress in Assam ahead of the assembly elections.

Responding to state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi's allegation that he had taken Rs 50 crore from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to join the BJP, Borah rejected the charge and said he would openly accept such an offer if it were made. "My father had a dream of building a stadium, and had reserved 12 bighas of land for the purpose. I, however, could not fulfil his wish even when I was the MLA for two terms. He died in 2019," he said.

"This wish of my father is in my heart, but to build a state-of-the-art stadium, Rs 50 crore will not be enough. But I will accept it and start the work," he added.

Borah said he could not tolerate what he described as humiliation within the party and reiterated that his decision to resign was final. He is scheduled to join the BJP on February 22, ahead of the March-April elections to the 126-member Assam assembly.

(With inputs from PTI)