In the second setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar ahead of assembly elections, Dalit leader and former Union minister Sanjay Paswan on Thursday quit BJP pointing out faults in the party's handling of the Gujarat issue and accusing its leadership of 'insulting' minorities and Dalits.

Paswan, who resigned a day after Nagmani, said in a letter to BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu that the immediate provocation for his step was the Supreme Court's order to reopen 2000 Gujarat riots cases.

He said senior BJP leaders, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Shahnawaz Hussain, had expressed their views against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from time to time and held the riots responsible for the poll debacle, sources close to the former Minister of State for Telecom told PTI.

"But because of the so-called discipline, these leaders decided not to pursue the matter for their own good," said Paswan, who lost the Lok Sabha election from Nawada in Bihar.

Claiming that he had demanded Modi's removal on several occasions, Paswan said in the letter: "But you ignored my pleas and insulted Dalits and minorities."

"I experienced that minorities, Dalits and poor do not have any respectable position in BJP," he said, adding after the Supreme Court's order for reopening of 2000 Gujarat riot cases, his 'pain and anguish has become unbearable'.

Although the former minister has not disclosed his plans, he is likely to ally with Lok Janshakti Party of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan who is forming a new front against ruling RJD of Lalu Prasad in Bihar ahead of assembly polls.