Page 3 - Ghulam Nabi Azad

Congress a sinking ship, Azad raised valid issues during exit: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said Ghulam Nabi Azad raised valid points while exiting the Congress which is a "sinking ship". Azad has resigned from all positions in the Congress, including its primary membership, by describing former Congress president Rahul Gandhi as "immature" and "childish" and accusing the leadership of "foisting a non-serious individual" at the helm of the party. Speaking to reporters at the Nagpur airport, Fadnavis said the Congress was a sinking ship and people who think the ship cannot be salvaged were taking different decisions. "I think some questions raised by Azad were valid. However, it is their internal matter and I will not comment on it," the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said. Azad, 73, who has been associated with the Congress for nearly five decades, also attacked party chief Sonia Gandhi for applying the "remote control model that demolished the institutional integrity of the UPA government" to the

It's Congress that has got 'Azadi' from Azad: Youth Congress president

The Congress party leadership has always entrusted him and stood by his side at times of despair. But alas, he couldn't give back to the party!" Srinivas BV, president of Indian Youth Congress said.

Delhi: Ghulam Nabi meets J-K leaders, set to float his own national party

Several political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday met veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is planning to launch a new national party, a day after tendering resignations from all posts of Congress."MLAs from Jammu and Kashmir are here. A few more-some senior leaders and ex-ministers-will come in the evening. Azad Sa'ab said a national party will be formed, we'll begin from J & K and the upcoming poll will be fought strongly. Don't want to reply to comments, we'll reply with a victory," said ex-Congress leader Salman Nizami.The meeting came within 24 hours of Azad's resignation from all posts in Congress and it holds importance as the polls in the valley are likely to be held later this year."Under the leadership of Azad ji we will launch a national party and the work will begin from Jammu and Kashmir. Azad ji will go to J & K and will form an alliance with like-minded parties and leaders. All the criticism coming Azad Ji's way will be answered by winning elections,"

Finally, Ghulam Nabiji freed himself: Scindia on Azad's resignation

Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said his former Congress colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad has finally "freed" himself, a day after the veteran leader ended his nearly five-decade-old association with the Grand Old Party. The internal situation of the Congress has been clear for many years now. But in the end, Ghulam Nabiji became free, Scindia, a former Congress leader who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2020, told reporters. Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from all positions in the Congress, including its primary membership, by describing former Congress president Rahul Gandhi as "immature" and "childish" and accusing the leadership of "foisting a non-serious individual" at the helm of the party. Meanwhile, identifying himself as a BJP worker, the Union civil aviation minister said he was working for nation-building under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Scindia reached Gwalior on Saturday to tour the flood-affected areas in the Gwalior-Chambal region

Azad to launch own party, set up J-K unit within fortnight: Confidante

Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is all set to launch his own party and its first unit would come up in Jammu and Kashmir within a fortnight, his close confidant G M Saroori said on Saturday. Saroori asserted that the restoration of the pre-August 5, 2019 position of Jammu and Kashmir will be part of the party's manifesto. A former minister who was among several prominent Congress leaders of Jammu and Kashmir who resigned from the basic membership of the party in support of Azad, Saroori said their leader was ideologically secular and there was no question of him working at the behest of the BJP. He also claimed that hundreds of senior Congress leaders, Panchayati Raj Institution members and prominent workers have tendered their resignations after the former chief minister ended his over five-decade-long association with the national party. "Azad is coming to Jammu on September 4 to hold consultations with his well-wishers before the launch of our new party," Saroori, a form

Crack between India, Cong coordination since 1885: Tewari on Azad's exit

A day after Ghulam Nabi Azad's exit from the Congress, party MP Manish Tewari said that a crack seems to have appeared in coordination between India and the Congress that existed since 1885

Ashwini Kumar's prediction on Congress exodus comes true as Ghulam resigns

Former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar's predictions turned out to be true as he called Ghulam's resignation 'unfortunate'

Cong names media coordinators for 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', moves on after Azad

The Congress on Friday appointed leaders to coordinate the media activities of the Bharat Jodo Yatra' in the states from where it will pass and said "Azad or no Azad" the organisational machinery moves ahead with determination. Congress media department head Pawan Khera said the party has approved the names of the people who will coordinate the media activities of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in states from where the "historic" yatra will be crossing. Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra which will traverse from Kanyakumari to Kashmir will start on September 7. "Azad or no Azad, the Congress organisational machine moves ahead with determination. First list of state-wise media & publicity in-charges and coordinators for Bharat Jodo Yatra," Khera tweeted, referring to senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's decision to resign from the party on Friday. "Bharat Jodo Yatra is not an event but a movement to bring together the people, from all walks of life, against the several evils that are ...

Live news updates: India reports 9,520 new coronavirus cases, 41 fatalities

Live news updates: The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,27,597

Azad's resignation adds third dimension to forthcoming polls in J-K

Senior Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation from primary membership of the Congress after serving the party for 52 years has added an important third dimension to the forthcoming assembly elections in J&K.

Congress's biggest liability is its glorious past

After the 2004 victory, Congress allowed its hangers-on and its own fake Socialist nostalgia to override the most important political argument for the day and years to come

Azad fell into trap of PM Modi, says Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday said he was not surprised by the resignation of his party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad as it was clear he had fallen into the "trap" set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had shed tears for him in Parliament. He claimed if Azad (73) had been made a Rajya Sabha member again after his term in the Upper House of Parliament ended last year, he would not have resigned from the Congress. Chowdhury, who is also chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Lok Sabha, was talking to reporters here in the evening after panel members returned from a tour of the Bastar region of the state. Congress leader Azad on Friday ended his five-decade association with the party, terming it comprehensively destroyed and lashing out at former president Rahul Gandhi for demolishing its entire consultative mechanism. Asked about Azad's resignation, Chowdhury said, I am not at all surprised. I live opposite his residence (in Delhi). After the Modi

Azad was trying to "harm" Congress; his exit is no loss: Bhupesh Baghel

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Friday alleged that senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was trying to harm the party and his exit would cause "no loss" to it

Regret Azad leaving Congress when it is going through tough times: Farooq

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Friday expressed regret over the resignation of Ghulam Nabi Azad from the Congress and said he should not have done so when the party was going through tough times. Azad resigned from all party positions on Friday. "I regret it. Ghulam Nabi gave his life to INC. He has worked for it since his college days. He rose to the highest levels in Congress he was a minister in many governments, member of working committee, general secretary. He was a pillar of the Congress party. He was like a family member to Indira, Rajiv, Sanjay Gandhi, Abdullah told reporters here. He said Azad's leaving the party when the Congress is passing through tough times was not good. "Had he left the party when it returned to its route, then it was alright, but leaving it in a vortex is not a good thing to do. Well, it is his decision, I didn't know about it and heard from the media. "I pray that God keep him safe, and pray that he does good work for the people

Azad's DNA Modi-fied; his remote control in hands of Modi: Congress

The Congress on Friday launched an all-out attack against Ghulam Nabi Azad after he resigned from the party, saying his "betrayal" of the party leadership reveals his true character and that his DNA has been "Modi-fied". The Opposition party also linked his resignation to the end of his Rajya Sabha tenure and claimed the "betrayal" by Azad in these times shows that his "remote control" is in the hands of Narendra Modi and that the "love" between them had also been on display in Parliament. "First Modi's tears in Parliament, then Padma Vibhushan, then the extension for residence. Ye sanyog nahi sahyog hai (It's not a coincidence, it's a collaboration)," Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet in Hindi. The sharp attack by the Congress and its leaders came within hours of 73-year-old Azad quitting the party after nearly five decades of association with the grand old party. Congress leaders said Azad's observations in the letter were more o

Will launch new party, first unit in J-K in view of impending polls: Azad

Veteran politician Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said he would launch a new party soon and that its first unit would be set up in Jammu and Kashmir. "I am in no hurry as of now to launch a national party but keeping in mind that elections are likely to be held in Jammu and Kashmir, I have decided to launch a unit there soon," Azad, who resigned from the Congress earlier in the day, told PTI. Azad, who had served as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Union minister under various prime ministers and the chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, refused to divulge any further details on the formation of his new party. Refusing to be dragged into any discussion over his resignation, Azad said, "I have thought about this decision for long and there is no going back.

Allegations in Azad's letter far from truth, says Congress' Sachin Pilot

Rajasthan's former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot Friday said senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from the Congress when there was a need for the country and the party to stand against the BJP rule. Azad Friday ended his decades-long association with the Congress, and blasted the party in an explosive resignation letter to its president Sonia Gandhi. "The timing of the letter is very unfortunate. He remained on various posts over the last 50 years. Today, there was a need for the country and the party to stand against the BJP rule. This is the time of struggle, to put forth the truth and face the BJP," Pilot said. He said the allegations levelled in the letter are far from truth. Pilot said need of the hour is for experienced and young workers to come together. Party workers will continue to struggle and raise their voice against the BJP's "misrule", Pilot said.

Congress doomed beyond redemption: Amarinder Singh after Azad resigns

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Friday targeted the Congress, saying the party under the current leadership is "doomed beyond redemption". His statement came on a day senior Congress leader quit the party, terming it comprehensively destroyed and accusing the leadership of committing fraud in the name of "sham" internal polls. Amarinder Singh had also quit the Congress last year following his unceremonious exit as the chief minister and floated his own outfit, Punjab Lok Congress. "When you cannot retain leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad who spent his entire life with the party, there is something terminally wrong with your functioning and the way you treat your senior and seasoned leaders," Singh said in a statement. Questioning the claims of some leaders that the party had given Azad so much, Amarinder Singh said it is a reciprocal process. "The party is made by the blood and sweat and hard work of leaders," he remarked, adding, "It cannot be a one-man ...

Exits of Azad, Sibal leave Congress' G-23 change seekers in disarray

Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation from the Congress on Friday marked the most high-profile exit of one of the "Group of 23" (G-23) leaders, who had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi two years ago for a "collective and inclusive leadership" in the organisation, exposing the faultlines in the grand old party. The G-23, the members of which were lampooned by the party loyalists after their letter became public on August 24, 2020, has virtually disintegrated over the last two years with the resignations of Azad and Kapil Sibal, seen as the prime movers of the initiative, and others such as Shashi Tharoor, M Veerappa Moily and Mukul Wasnik making peace with the high-command. Leaders such as Jitin Prasada and Yogananda Shastri have also quit the Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) respectively. Prasada is a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government now, while Shastri heads the Delhi unit of the NCP. Former Union minister Anand Sharma, w

5 J&K Cong leaders quit in Azad's support, more resignations likely: Report

Hours after former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the Congress, five senior party leaders including two former ministers resigned the party's basic membership with sources saying more are likely go. Former ministers R S Chib and G M Saroori, former MLA Mohammad Amin Bhat, former MLC Naresh Gupta and party leader Salman Nizami resigned in support of Azad, sources said. They said five more leaders are likely to quit including former MP Jugal Kishore Sharma and ex-legislators Haji Abdul Rashid, Chowdhary Mohd Akram and Gulzar Ahmad Wani. Another prominent leader, Muneer Ahmad Mir, is also likely to resign, the sources said. "Over the years as a member of the Congress Party, it has been my sincere endeavour to work for the betterment of my State - Jammu & Kashmir. I feel that in the prevailing circumstances, the Congress Party has lost its momentum in contributing towards the future of my State. "Keeping in view the turmoil that the State of J&K has ...