Noshir Dadrawala: BPP trustee steps down

The internal bickering among the trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), city’s oldest and richest trust, continues.

On Wednesday, Noshir Dadrawala, one of the seven trustees, stepped down from his post. Mr. Dadrawala alleged that the BPP’s chairman, Yazdi Desai, had humiliated him during a meeting a day earlier.

In an email sent to the all the trustees, Mr. Dadrawala said, “I am aware that the scheme of election states that a letter of this nature should be addressed to the chairman. But, sorry that is a position he holds by ‘default’ and not because he deserves it.” Mr. Dadrawala claimed that this was not the first time that Mr. Desai had humiliated him in front of others, including BPP’s staff members and the trustees. “His high-handed, arbitrary actions are by now well-known to everybody,” Mr. Dadrawala wrote.

The trustees of the BPP have quarrelled among themselves for long. Many of them have even filed police complaints against each other. When The Hindu contacted Mr. Dadrawala, he confirmed that the email was sent by him but refused to comment further. “I am very upset at the moment to talk. This has not been an easy decision,” he said.

In his email, he also said that there can never be progress with a board that is so opinionated, arrogant, egoistic and divided. “I re-contested in 2015 to give my very best one last time with a new team. But, it was a huge mistake on my part. This board is just as bad as the previous one, perhaps much worse! It is beyond redemption.”

Mr. Desai, however, claimed that no resignation letter had reached him. He said, “Noshir was attempting to conduct some kind of judicial inquiry between Dinshaw Mehta [the former BPP chairman] and some residents of Bhabha Sanatorium whom Dinshaw was insulting and humiliating. To avoid any confrontation in the board room, I requested Noshir to stop that inquiry.”

Mr. Desai added that when Mr. Dadrawala did not adhere to his request, he adjourned the meeting. “He did not like that and he banged the table and left,” said Mr. Desai, adding that if Mr. Dadrawala wants to resign then he should write a clear resignation letter addressed to him as chairman as per the Scheme of Elections. In 2015, BPP trustee Muncherji Cama submitted his resignation saying the BPP was beyond repair. His resignation was set aside by the assistant charity commissioner recently.