After Quitting From Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad to Launch His Own Party

NEW DELHI: Hours after veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation on Friday, Azad said he would soon launch a new party and that its first unit would be set up in Jammu and Kashmir.

"I am in no hurry as of now to launch a national party but keeping in mind that elections are likely to be held in Jammu and Kashmir, I have decided to launch a unit there soon," Azad, who hails from the Bhaderwah township of Doda district, had told PTI on Friday night.

In a five-page letter addressed to party president Sonia Gandhi, Azad said the situation in the Congress has reached a point of "no return".

Meanwhile reacting to Azad's resignation, Assam Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Himanta Biswa Sarma said that "ultimately, only Gandhis will remain in the party, and all others will leave".

Sarma, a Congress-turned-BJP leader, while talking to the media, said: "What Azad said today is similar to the issues that I had raised when I quit the party in 2015.

"Everybody knows that Rahul Gandhi is an immature, whimsical and unpredictable man. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is not taking care of the party. She is only projecting and promoting her son (Rahul Gandhi). However, these are futile exercises," he said.

The Assam Chief Minister said that Congress leaders who were loyal to the party are deserting it one by one, and the feelings of most of the Congress leaders are the same against the party.

"The style of functioning of the Congress party is helpful for the BJP. Rahul Gandhi is a blessing for BJP. Azad raised the correct issues which are prevailing," Sarma said.

Also Read: Ultimately, only the Gandhis will remain in Congress: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Also Watch: