SRINAGAR: In a major jolt to Jammu and Kashmir Congress, about a dozen senior leaders including former ministers and legislators loyal to Ghulam Nabi Azad have revolted against the unit chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir and resigned demanding a change in guard.
Party sources said that leaders GM Saroori, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Vikar Rasool, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Monga, Naresh Gupta, Subash Gupta, Amin Bhat, Anwar Bhat, Inayat Ali and others in a joint statement to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi have submitted their resignation from party positions.
Those who have resigned belong both to Kashmir and Jammu and all of them are close to former J&K Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. They have maintained that they are leaving the party. In the letter to Sonia, the leaders have alleged that under Mir, Congress is heading towards a disastrous situation and over 200 leaders, including former ministers, MLAs, MLCs, PCC office-bearers, district presidents and AICC Members have left for other parties.
The leaders informed that they have been requesting the high command for long to change the J&K Congress president but no heed was paid.
"Mir has been a total disaster for the party. He has been the president of the J&K unit of Congress for about seven years. Normally a person heads the party unit in a single term for two years (maximum three years)," said J&K Congress senior vice-president Monga. He made it clear they are not leaving the party. "We are Congress by heart and won’t leave the party," asserted Monga.