New Delhi/Jammu: Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had scotched rumours of his likely to return to the party in an exclusive interaction with ETV Bharat. Earlier ANI has reported that Azad was re-joining Congress. "I am shocked to see the story filed by ANI correspondent about my rejoining in congress party," Azad said.
Unfortunately such stories are being planted by a section of leaders in the congress party quite now and then just to demoralise my leaders and supporters. I don't have any ill will against congress party and its leadership, however I request them to tell these habitual story planters to refrain from doing so. Once again I would like to make sure that this story has no base at all," Azad told ETV Bharat.
Azad quit his 52-year-long association with the Congress party on August 26 and announced his new political outfit 'Democratic Azad Party' in October. According to ANI's sources, during the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, Azad claimed that only Congress can compete with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Meanwhile, Azad had said that he is not against the policy of Congress but had issues with its weak system.
After Azad's statement, Congress-led Bharat Jodo Yatra's convenor, Digvijaya Singh openly invited Azad to be a part of the yatra, following which former G23 leaders-- Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Bhupinder Singh-- contacted Azad and advocated his return to Congress besides him joining the Yatra, the report said.
Significantly, the party has recently made MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh, the President of Bihar Congress and Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been handed over the Congress' command of Haryana. Meanwhile, many leaders, including Jammu and Kashmir's former Deputy Chief Minister Tarachand who left Congress and went with Azad, recently left the latter's camp as well.
Many leaders except Azad would join Bharat Jodo Yatra in J-K. Despite Azad's sharp attacks on Congress' former chief Rahul Gandhi in his resignation, which have upset the family, the party is making every possible attempt to bring Azad back to 'home'. For this, Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Ambika Soni have been assigned the responsibility to bridge the gap between Ghulam Nabi Azad and Congress, the report said.
Ambika Soni is an old loyalist of Gandhis having good political relations with Azad. As per the people aware of the matter, Ambika Soni has told Azad to first come to the yatra and then talk to Rahul Gandhi as he had made direct attacks on him while leaving. It is pertinent to mention that Azad has not responded to the fillers given by Congress national spokesperson Jairam Ramesh to participate in the foot march, despite Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti's announcement to join the padyatra in J-K, the report read.
As of now, Azad and Congress are at loggerheads due to the personal attack on Rahul he had made earlier while leaving the party, but talks are currently underway between the two. In his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, Azad had targeted party leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, over the way the party has been run in the past nearly nine years.
In the hard-hitting five-page letter, Azad had claimed that a coterie runs the party while Sonia Gandhi was just "a nominal head" and all the major decisions were taken by "Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs". He was earlier the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Recounting his long association with the Congress, Azad had said the situation in the party has reached a point of "no return." While Azad took potshots at Sonia Gandhi in the letter, his sharpest attack was on Rahul Gandhi and he described the Wayand MP as a "non-serious individual" and "immature".
