Senior Ex-Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Quits India's Congress Party

In the past few months, Azad has voiced his dissatisfaction with the party often. He was one of 23 senior politicians who wrote to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in August last year calling for "sweeping changes" and a democratic overhaul of the party.

Senior Indian National Congress politician from Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad has stepped down from all party posts on Friday as he quit Sonia Gandhi’s main opposition party.

The 73-year-old has been a well-known and highly respected parliamentarian. He also served as minister under the Congress-led federal government and was the chief of Jammu and Kashmir state.

In his five-page resignation letter to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Azad slammed the party’s former leader and Sonia Gandhi’s son, Rahul Gandhi, calling him "immature" and "demolishing the consultative mechanism" in the party.

"Demolishing the entire consultative mechanism in the party which existed pre-2013, all senior and experienced leaders were sidelined, a new coterie of inexperienced sycophants started running the party," Azad highlighted.

Azad went on to allege that the situation in the party has been deteriorating since the 2019 general elections "after Rahul Gandhi stepped down in a huff", with the bloc now at a point of "no return", the 73-year-old ex-parliamentarian wrote.

He further blamed Rahul Gandhi of insulting all "senior party functionaries who have given their lives to the party". Previous media reports have suggested that Rahul Gandhi has prioritized suggestions from younger politicians over senior ones.

He likewise claimed that all-important party decisions are being taken by "Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs (personal assistants)," and Sonia remains a "nominal figurehead".

For its part, the Congress Party called Azad's resignation "unfortunate" and "regrettable."

Azad, who joined Congress in the mid-1970s, played a pivotal role in the party. He served as union minister several times from 1982 to 2014 during Congress-led governments.

He was a member of parliament from 2014 to 2022 and served as opposition leader. Azad's tenure in parliament ended in March 2022.

Last week, Azad declined the post of party campaign chief in Jammu and Kashmir. NDTV news channel said that Azad saw his "appointment in Jammu and Kashmir as a demotion as he is already a member of the party's all-India political affairs committee."

Earlier this week, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Singh also resigned from the party, while other recent resignees include - Kapil Sibal, Ashwani Kumar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, R.P.N. Singh, among others.