Ghulam Nabi Azad To Form Own Party In J&K Ahead Of Polls, Rules Out Joining BJP

Ghulam Nabi Azad: Azad, whose exit has triggered a spate of resignations in J&K Congress, said he would visit the state soon to meet his supporters.

Ghulam Nabi Azad. (Image Source: File Photo)

After resigning from Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said he would form his own party in Jammu and Kashmir even as he ruled out joining the BJP, PTI reported. Azad, whose exit has triggered a spate of resignations in J&K Congress, said he would visit the state soon to meet his supporters.

"I will be visiting Jammu and Kashmir soon. I will be setting up my outfit in Jammu and Kashmir soon. I will not be joining the BJP," Azad told TV channels after sending his resignation letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Azad's remarks comes as the Union Territory prepares for the first Assembly elections since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

READ | 'Inexperienced Sycophants Running Affairs': What Ghulam Nabi Azad Said In Resignation Letter

Earlier in the day, eight senior party leaders, including three former ministers, resigned from the Congress's primary membership.

Former ministers RS Chib, GM Saroori and Abdul Rashid have resigned. Other who quit in Azad's support are former MLAs Mohammad Amin Bhat, Gulzar Ahmad Wani and Choudhary Mohammad Akram, former MLC Naresh Gupta and party leader Salman Nizami.

Most of the Congress leaders, perceived to be loyal to Azad, have already reached New Delhi and are camping there.

Ghulam Nabi Azad Resigns From Congress, Attacks Rahul Gandhi

Azad, 73, left the party a few days after turning down a major position in the Jammu and Kashmir Congress, claiming that his suggestions for the group had been disregarded.

In a five-page resignation letter, the seasoned leader attacked the Gandhis, blaming Rahul Gandhi of "childish behaviour," irresponsibility, and allowing a "coterie of inexperienced sycophants" to rule the party.

"Unfortunately, after the entry of Rahul Gandhi into politics and particularly after January 2013 when he was appointed as the Vice President by you, the entire consultative mechanism which existed earlier was demolished by him," he stated in his resignation letter. 

Azad's exit comes just before the 2024 general election and amid indications that choosing a new leader of Congress would be postponed once more. The senior leaders of the Congress have declared a "Bharat Jodo Yatra."

Recalling the time when he first joined INC, Azad in his resignation letter wrote: "I joined the Indian National Congress in Jammu and Kashmir in mid 1970s when it was still a taboo to be associated with the party given its chequered history in the state from 8th August 1953 onwards - the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah being the nadir of its political myopia."

Highlighting August 2020 appeal by 23 Congress leaders, Azad stated: "In August 2020, when I and 22 other senior colleague including former Union Ministers and Chief Ministers wrote to you to flag the abysmal drift in the party the "coterie" choose to unleash its sycophants on us and got us attacked, vilified and humiliated in the most crude manner possible."

"Infact, on the direction of the coterie that runs the AICC today my mock funeral possession was taken out in Jammu. Those who committed indiscipline were feted in Delhi by the General Secretaries of the AICC and Rahul Gandhi personally," he added. 

The Congress alleged that Azad's DNA had been "Modi-fied" and linked his resignation to the end of his Rajya Sabha tenure.