Hitting out at Azad’s statement in the letter claiming that party decisions were taken by Rahul Gandhi or his security guards and personal assistants, veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh took to Twitter on Saturday to say, “Ghulam Nabi ji bhai jaan, which PA or security personnel of Rahul ji took the decision to make you the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha? Tell us this too.”
गुालाम नबी जी भाई जान, आपको राज्य सभा में विपक्ष का नेता बनाए जाने का निर्णय राहुल जी के किस पीए या सुरक्षा कर्मी ने लिया था? यह भी हमें बता दें। @INCIndia @ghulamnazad @Jairam_Ramesh https://t.co/0tXgmz3MqY
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) August 27, 2022
In a video posted on Twitter, BV Srinivas, Indian Youth Congress president, alleged that “Azad had harmed the state units wherever he was the in-charge” and questioned why “he did not quit the UPA government if he was unhappy with Rahul Gandhi’s decisions”. “Azad did not say anything earlier because of his lust for power. He became angry only because he lost the chair,” he went on to say.
Ghulam did not get Azadi from Congress, Congress got Azadi from him. pic.twitter.com/xSouQ2NvsG
— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) August 27, 2022
The same day, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said Azad’s letter was “targeted personal vilification” of Rahul and called the timing of Azad’s letter “very unfortunate” as the party is preparing to take on the “misgovernance” of the BJP government.
“He (Azad) held various posts for over 50 years and now, when there is a need for the country and the party to raise people’s issues, this was uncalled for,” he said.
गुलाम नबी आज़ाद जी के इस्तीफे की टाइमिंग दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है।
लगभग 50 साल तक युवा कांग्रेस, सांसद, मंत्री, मुख्यमंत्री, नेता प्रतिपक्ष जैसे पदों पर रहने के बाद आज संघर्ष का समय था।
चिट्ठी में लिखी उनकी बातें सच से परे हैं और वो जिम्मेदारी से पीछे हटे हैं : श्री @SachinPilot pic.twitter.com/uvkX3S0dr2
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 26, 2022
Speaking of a portion in Azad’s letter where he pins the blame of the 2014 electoral loss on an incident where Rahul Gandhi said a government ordinance passed by the UPA should be “torn up and thrown out”, Pilot added, “All of us in the Congress were associated with and part of the UPA government, including Mr Azad. So singling out a person for the defeat in 2014 would not be right”.
Questioning Azad’s decision to form a new party, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad said in a tweet: “It is one thing to break away from the party due to differences/unhappiness over an issue. But the announcement of forming a new party within an hour of leaving the party shows that the allegations of Ghulam Nabi Azad Saheb are nothing more than an excuse to leave the party.”
किसी मुद्दे पर मतभेद/नाराज़गी के कारण पार्टी से अलग होना एक बात है। मगर पार्टी से अलग होने के घंटे भर के अंदर ही नयी पार्टी बनाने का एलान यह बताता है कि ग़ुलाम नबी आज़ाद साहेब के आरोप पार्टी छोड़ने के बहाने से ज़्यादा कुछ भी नहीं हैं।
और पार्टी वह जिसने उन्हें उनकी पहचान दिलायी। pic.twitter.com/LnHxa0ZVEH— Dr Shakeel Ahmad (@Ahmad_Shakeel) August 26, 2022
Raman Bhalla, the working president of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress, said at a press conference in the party office in the Union Territory that Azad’s resignation was “as an attempt to harm the growing popularity of the Congress, especially in Jammu and Kashmir,” adding: “Modi’s tearful farewell to the former leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha (in February 2021) was an indication of the recent developments”.
Also talking to reporters in Srinagar, Congress Working Committee member Tariq Hameed Karra said Azad’s resignation had nothing to do with “ideological differences with the party but was due to “personal reasons and animosity”
“When he says he was not being taken onboard, he should remember he was onboard for the last 50 years. When he says sycophants were there, perhaps it would have been said about him also before,” he added.
“Why does Azad choose to show his resentment whenever the Congress president is not well, is hospitalised, or outside for treatment,” he asked.
Calling the Congress a “sinking ship”, BJP leader and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, talking to reporters in Nagpur, said, “I think some questions raised by Azad were valid. However, it is their internal matter and I will not comment on it”.
On Saturday, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh said, “It’s an internal matter of the Congress. It’s important to follow democratic principles in a political party. If it’s not being followed, then the party’s people should be worried about it.”
Talking to reporters in Gwalior while touring flood-affected areas in the region, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was part of the Congress until 2020, said, “The internal situation of the Congress has been clear for many years now. But in the end, Ghulam Nabi ji became free.”
A day earlier, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sharma alleged that Azad’s letter was similar to his resignation letter from the Congress in September 2015.
“You read GN Azad’s letter & the letter I wrote in 2015, you’ll find a lot of similarities. In Congress, everyone knows Rahul Gandhi is immature. Sonia Gandhi is not taking care of the party, she’s only trying to promote her son. It is a futile attempt,” he said.
After his resignation on Friday, Azad said he would launch a new party soon and that its first unit would be set up in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress leaders said that his allegations were merely an excuse to leave the party.
(With inputs from agencies)