To support Ghulam Nabi Azad, 64 Jammu & Kashmir Congress leaders left the party
To Support of Gulam Nabi Azad leaders submitted Sonia Gandhi a combined letter of resignation, including former J&K deputy CM Tara Chand.
On August 30, 64 top Congress figures, among them the former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, quit the group in favour of Ghulam Nabi Azad in Jammu, claiming that Mr. Azad’s plans will create a better and more promising future for Jammu and Kashmir.
They delivered a letter of resignation as a group to Sonia Gandhi, the head of the Congress.
At a press conference, Mr. Chand and other members of the Congress, including former MLA Balwan Singh and former ministers Abdul Majid Wani, Manohar Lal Sharma, and Gharu Ram, announced their resignations from the party.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mr. Azad, 73, broke up his five-decade relationship with the Congress on Friday, calling it “comprehensively ruined” and accusing Rahul Gandhi of “demolishing” the party’s whole consultation process.
“Due to the situation and the leadership crisis within the Congress Party, where a coterie around the party’s senior command is making the most reckless decisions and destroying the party.
The joint resignation letter from 64 leaders and senior functionaries from across Jammu Province was read by Mr. Singh. “All of us had a very long association with the party spanning over decades and devoted all our energy and resources towards expanding the party in Jammu and Kashmir, but unfortunately we found that the treatment meted out to us was humiliating,” the letter stated.
The letter continued, “We believe that we should also come out of Congress to make some worthwhile contribution in building a positive political society where people are heard and responded to. With our leader and mentor Ghulam Nabi Azad having resigned from the party on the issue listed by him in a letter to you [Sonia], we believe that this is the right time.”
From Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Azad will shortly introduce a national-level party.
They stated in their letter of resignation that “we all support Azad and we will join him in his mission to lead J&K to a bright future.”
Mr. Singh asserted that Mr. Azad’s intention to found a national level party in Jammu will arouse optimism and renewed will to put things right once and for all. He claimed that Jammu and Kashmir is experiencing an unprecedented crisis due to the lack of an elected administration.
“We are optimistic that J&K would be able to regain statehood under Azad’s leadership after a three-year hiatus. He declared that he was the only and most potent advocate for early elections and the statehood of J&K.
According to Mr. Singh, Mr. Azad represents a steadfast hope for the people of J&K in terms of closing barriers across communities and regions.
We are confident that Azad’s vision would enable J&K and its downtrodden populace to emerge from the shadows of pessimism and forge a brand-new and promising future for J&K, the official added.
Over the previous four days, hundreds of Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) members, municipal corporators, district and block level leaders, and over a dozen important Congress politicians—including former ministers and lawmakers—have already defected to Mr. Azad.