Congress spokesperson and former head of social media, Rohan Gupta, announced his resignation from all party posts on Friday. Citing reasons of 'constant humiliation' and 'character assassination' by a senior leader, Gupta's resignation comes just three days after he withdrew his candidacy from the Ahmedabad East constituency for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Gupta, in a letter to Mallikarjun Kharge, stated, "I made the most difficult decision of my life by withdrawing my candidacy. Now I am taking another very difficult decision of leaving the party after serving it for the past 15 years due to constant humiliation and character assassination by a leader associated with the communications department."

He revealed that spending time with his father, who is battling severe health issues, helped him comprehend the extent of betrayal and sabotage experienced over the years. Without directly naming the leader responsible for his distress, Gupta emphasised that the individual's behaviour had caused him "serious mental agony and stress."

He further stated, "The wounds of those incidents have still not healed, which I could see in his tears. He doesn't want me to pay the same price as the whole family has witnessed the mental trauma I have endured in the last two years, which was caused by the senior leader connected with the Communications Department."

Gupta's resignation, however, was met with scepticism by Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi, who alleged that Gupta intends to defect to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his business interests. Manish also accused him of scripting his resignation letter and damaging the party's image.

Responding to the allegations, Gupta maintained his position, reiterating that he resigned to protect his self-respect. Dismissing claims of joining the BJP, Gupta affirmed his moral position against tolerating further assaults on his dignity.

Meanwhile, Doshi portrayed Gupta's departure as a positive development for the Congress, labelling him as more of a hindrance than an asset to the party. He criticised Gupta's language as indicative of his desire to appease his supposed new patrons.