Azad was trying to ‘harm’ Cong; his exit is no loss: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel

Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Friday alleged that senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was trying to harm the party and that his exit would cause “no loss” to it. Baghel’s comments came on the day when veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from all party positions.

“He was constantly trying to harm the party. Congress has given him full respect; made him a cabinet minister and chief minister. His exit will cause no loss to the party,” said CM Baghel addressing media persons.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Azad saying the former union minister betrayed the Congress since his DNA had been “Modi-fied”. Taking to Twitter, Ramesh said, “A man who has been treated with the greatest respect by the Congress leadership has betrayed it by his vicious personal attacks which reveals his true character. GNA’s DNA has been modi-fied.” Congress leader Pawan Khera also said that the challenges being faced by the party were created by leaders like Azad. 

Ghulam Nabi Azad’s allegations

Earlier today, Azad cited the “immaturity” of Rahul Gandhi whom he blamed for “demolishing the consultative mechanism” in the party, as a reason behind quitting the party. In a hard-hitting 5 page note to party interim president Sonia Gandhi, Azad claimed that a coterie runs the party while she was just a nominal head and all the major decisions were taken by “Shri Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs”.

The development comes days after Azad resigned from the organisational post of Jammu and Kashmir. Recounting his long association with the Congress and his close relationship with Indira Gandhi, Azad said the situation in the Congress party has reached a point of “no return.”

“The entire organisational election process is a farce and a sham. At no place anywhere in the country have elections been held at any level of the organisation. Handpicked lieutenants of the AICC have been coerced to sign on lists prepared by the coterie that runs the AICC sitting in 24 Akbar Road,” Azad wrote.

Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi, Azad wrote, “Since the 2019 elections the situation in the party has only worsened. After Rahul Gandhi stepped down in a ‘huff’ and not before insulting all the senior Party functionaries who have given their lives to the party in a meeting of the extended Working Committee, you took over as interim President. A position that you have continue to hold even today for the past three years.”

Azad said that it was “worse still the ‘remote control model’ that demolished the institutional integrity of the UPA government now got applied to the Indian National Congress.” Following Azad’s resignation, six more Congress MLAs-RS Chib, GM Saroori, Haji Abdul Rashid, Mohd Amin Bhat, Gulzar Ahmad Wani and Choudhary Mohd Akram also quit the party on Friday.