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Following senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation on Friday from all party positions, including its primary membership, delivering another blow to the embattled party that has seen a series of leaders leave it, several leaders reacted to the five page letter he wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
While hitting back at Ghulam Nabi Azad over his criticism of the party leadership, the Congress on Friday linked his resignation to the end of his Rajya Sabha tenure and alleged his betrayal reveals his true character and that his DNA has "Modi-fied."
"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 general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Friday described the senior Congress party leader's resignation as a body blow to the party, saying it was "sad" and "scary" to see the grand old party implode. "Long rumoured to be in the offing but a body blow to the Congress none the less. Perhaps the senior most leader to quit the party in recent times, his resignation letter makes for very painful reading," he tweeted, adding “it's sad, and quite scary, to see the grand old party of India implode."
Congress veteran Anand Sharma, who recently quit as the chairman of the steering committee for Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, noted “it's a serious development & will pain all Congressmen. I'm personally shocked. This situation was entirely avoidable. We were hopeful that there would be serious introspection but unfortunately, that process was subverted."
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Friday expressed dismay and a "sense of betrayal" over Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation from the party, and said quitting strengthens the policies, systems and people that made them write the "letter of reform." Dikshit, a former party MP, was part of the G23 leaders who had written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 for an organisational overhaul and reforms, saying it was a “banner of reform and not a banner of revolt. When I read your letter of resignation, it gave me a sense of dismay and unfortunately, then a sense of betrayal."
Meanwhile, Gujarat Congress in-charge Raghu Sharma said on Friday that the party gave everything to Ghulam Nabi Azad and it did not behove him to make allegations while quitting. Azad, a senior leader and former Union minister, resigned from all Congress positions earlier in the day and accused the leadership of committing "fraud" on the party in the name of "sham" internal polls.
Interestingly, another leader who recently resigned as Congress spokesperson, lawyer-turned-politician Jaiveer Shergill on Friday said leaders across age groups were frustrated with its 'coterie culture.' Recently Shergill had resigned as Congress spokesperson. "Now a senior leader is speaking about it becoming a club of PAs and security guards shows that leaders across age groups are frustrated and disappointed by this entire coterie culture that is thriving in the Congress," Shergill told ANI.
Jaiveer Shergill, who resigned as Congress spokesperson on Wednesday, said the decision-making of the grand-old party is not in consonance with the ground reality and public interest but is influenced by sycophancy, according to ANI report.
(With inputs from PTI)