NEW DELHI: Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said Rahul Gandhi is the reason for him and several other ‘young and old’ leaders to quit the grand old party.
The former Jammu and Kashmir CM made the comments during the release of his autobiography ‘Azaad’, in the capital.
“Rahul Gandhi is the reason that I am not in Congress today. Many young and old deserted the party for the same reason,” he said.
Azad, who quit last year, said Congress has become a party of a spineless bunch. “If you are in Congress, you will have to undergo an operation to remove your spine,” he said. The autobiography, which gives a glimpse of his political journey through the years, was released by former Union minister Karan Singh.
Azad said though he had a difference of opinion with the functioning of Congress, he had objected to the conviction and subsequent disqualification of Rahul in the defamation case. “When the disqualification happened, I gave a statement in Jammu that it was wrong. Though I left Congress, my objectivity is still intact,” he said, adding that Rahul is paying the price for tearing the 2013 Ordinance on the conviction of politicians.
Azad regretted the UPA government should have stuck to the Ordinance despite Rahul’s reservations. “He was not part of the cabinet. You all know how weak our cabinet was. If we had passed it, Rahul would have been saved today... None except the President can overrule the cabinet decision,” he said.
On top Congress leaders and three CMs accompanying Rahul to a Surat court, he said, “The party should not issue a whip to the leaders to accompany Rahul to the Surat court. Indira Gandhi or former PM Narasimha have never asked any leader to accompany them.”
Azad, who formed Democratic Progressive Azad Party after quitting Congress, also said Sonia Gandhi doesn’t have the power to decide whether Azad can come back to Congress or not. “Sonia Gandhi doesn’t have the power to call me back into the party. If she had the power, I would not be where I am today. Even if she takes me back, she can’t guarantee what would be done to me,” he said.
Comparing Rahul’s style of functioning with former Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Azad said, “Indira Gandhi was a 24/7 politician. Rajiv Gandhi was a reluctant politician, but he gave hundred per cent. Sonia Gandhi also worked hard. But Rahul’s heart is not there. Politics is about commitment to people, party and the country,” he said.