Former Rajya Sabha member and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna has resigned from the primary membership of the party following Union government’s decision to appoint him as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Sources said Khanna’s resignation was accepted last week. When contacted, Khanna said he had just followed the party’s edict.
“Earlier too, I resigned from the party for serving as a member of the Punjab Human Rights Commission but when the party called me, I returned,” he said, adding that he would never sever ties with his home district Hoshiarpur.
The government’s decision had come under criticism as Khanna would have been the first active politician to be appointed as the NHRC member. State BJP chief Vijay Sampla said Khanna’s resignation was a “non issue” as he had to resign from the party before taking over as the NHRC member. “How does it matter if Khanna Ji has resigned? The party has entrusted him with a new task,” said Sampla.