Days after quitting the Congress, veteran politician Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday announced that he will announce his own political party in next 10 days. Azad made the announcement during a public meeting in Baramulla.
Azad, 73, ended his five-decade association with the Congress on August 26, terming the party "comprehensively destroyed". He also lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for "demolishing" the party's entire consultative mechanism.
Following Azad’s unceremonious exit from the Congress, over a dozen leaders in Jammu and Kashmir quit the party, defecting to the former’s camp.
Earlier this month, former minister G M Saroori had said that Azad-led party would be a reality on the political map of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the next Assembly elections which are likely to be held after the completion of the ongoing process of special summary revision of the electoral rolls on November 25.
In the backdrop of leaders quitting the Congress and criticising it recently, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it is easier for many of them to make peace with the BJP and "fold hands" before it but his character is to fight for a certain idea of India.
Asked about leaders quitting the Congress and criticising the party, Gandhi said, "Obviously, the BJP has better means of putting pressure on them than I do."
His remarks at a press conference here during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra came days after leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Jaiveer Shergill quit the party and strongly criticised it. There has been an internal churning in the Congress as well and some leaders have criticised the party on some issues.
A day before, Azad attacked Congress' Rahul and Sonia Gandhi saying he had maintained a "dignified silence" since his departure from the party but their continued attack forced him to retaliate.
He said that despite repeated attacks on him by the Gandhis, he maintained a dignified silence for a long time but his single retaliation has now "grounded" them.
"After my resignation letter, I maintained a dignified silence for four days but when Sonia Gandhi and Rahul kept attacking at me, I was left with no other option but to make my point, as my religion and ethics of politics give you the right to protect yourself, when you are attacked," Azad said.
"They tried to defame me by firing missiles at me but when I retaliated, they got grounded with a single shot of 303 rifle.
"If I had used a ballistic missile, then they would have vanished from the politics forever," he said.
Azad said that he will fight to restore the statehood of Jammu & Kashmir and the rights of its people.
"The first right on the land of Jammu and Kashmir and jobs is that of our people and it's my foremost priority to fight to give my people their right," Azad said.
He added that his party will focus on the restoration of full statehood, and right to land and employment to those with native domicile.
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