Kolkata: In the wake of violent riots that took over 40 lives in Delhi over protests against the new Citizenship Law, popular Bengali actor, who had joined the BJP in 2013, resigned on Saturday.

Subhadra Mukherjee, who worked in several movies and TV serials like ‘Bou Kotha Kou’, ‘Sadharan Meye’, ‘Khiladi’, Romeo and Juliet, called her exit from the Bharatiya Janata Party “a much-awaited decision”.

Mukherjee said, “I joined the BJP in 2013 as I was impressed with the party’s way of functioning. But in recent years, I have noticed that things are not going the right way. I felt that a sense of hatred and judging people by their religion is taking over the ideology of BJP. After giving several thoughts, I have decided to quit.”

The actor mentioned that she has already sent her resignation letter to BJP state president Dilip Ghosh. “If that doesn’t work, I will personally go and submit my resignation letter to him,” Mukherjee said.

“Look what happened in Delhi. So many people were killed and so many houses were set on fire. The riot has divided the people. No one is taking any action against party leaders like Anurag Thakur and Kapil Mishra for hate speech. What is going on? The visuals of riot have shaken me completely. I thought I should not be in a party which is selective in taking action against its own party leaders,” she said while adding that she preferred to stay away from a party “that has people like Thakur and Mishra.”

On the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, she said, “It is an outstanding decision to provide citizenship to those who are coming from neighbouring countries out of distress. But in the name of giving citizenship to them, why are you playing with the lives of each and every Indian. Why all of a sudden we need to prove our citizenship. I condemned this move. I think they are killing humanity and giving birth to demons. Such a move will create a sense of insecurity among the people. This will lead to unrest not only in the national capital but also in the entire country.”