Gandhis' constant attack forced me to retaliate: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday attacked Congress leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, saying he had been maintaining dignified silence since his exit but their continual attack forced him to retaliate. Azad made the remarks at a rally in his hometown, Doda.

Last month Azad wrote an explosive resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi squarely blaming Rahul Gandhi for his unceremonious exit. He called Rahul an immature and childish politician and accused him of running the Congress party via what he called remote control.

Soon after his exit, a battery of Congress leaders launched a concerted attack against Azad.

Azad said his single act of retaliation grounded them.

Azad has announced his own party in the Union Territory.

"After my resignation letter, I maintained a dignified silence for four days but when Sonia Gandhi and Rahul kept attacking 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 added.

Azad promised that he would fight for the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.

With inputs from PTI