'Ghulam Nabi Azad wanting elections is unfortunate': Congress sycophancy reaches new low

Another Congress leader has hit out at senior party member and Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad for remarks favouring the election of party president. V Hanumantha Rao on Saturday said that Azad is asking for party election because he is not in that (Congress president) position otherwise it would have been different. 

'I am astonished by Azad's words'

Rao claimed that earlier when Azad was general secretary, he was the one to ask for the postponement of the Congress Working Committee elections. Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was among 23 leaders who sent a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi calling for sweeping changes in the party has strongly pitched for elections to the Congress Working Committee. He also pitched for elections to the key organisational posts of state chief and district chief.

Speaking to ANI, Rao asked Ghulam Nabi Azad, "Aren't you the one who opposed and asked for the postponement of the CWC election earlier?" "You will talk differently when you are in position and when you do not have one," said Rao adding he has been the General Secretary for a long time.

Rao further said, "I am astonished by Azad's words. His wanting the elections is unfortunate." He asked, "Why did you not ask for elections when Congress was ruling?" "It is not good to speak such words when the Congress is in a critical position," he said. "Congress will sustain only if Gandhi family is there; else it will not sustain," he added.

Ghulam Nabi Azad says party chief might not have 1% support

In a massive statement on Friday, Ghulam Nabi Azad said that Congress would continue to sit in the Opposition for the next 50 years if elections within the party are not conducted.

"When you contest the election, at least 51% is with you and you contest the election against only 2 to 3 people within the party. Right now, the person who becomes president might not even have 1% support. If CWC members are elected then they cannot be removed. So what is the problem? If my party wants to be in opposition for the next 50 years, then there is no need for elections within the party,” Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

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Azad had offered to resign

23 leaders had written to party's interim Chief Sonia Gandhi emphasising the need for the active revival of the party. As the CWC meeting began on August 24, sources reported that Sonia Gandhi offered to step down, whereas Rahul Gandhi expressed his displeasure at the dissenting letter. An all-out war broke out between Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal and the Wayanad MP after the latter said that the dissenters were 'in cahoots with the BJP', which prompted Sibal to lash out on Twitter and Azad to offer to resign. The temporary end to the day-long drama came with Sonia Gandhi continuing to be the 'interim' chief of the grand-old party, till fresh elections are held by AICC in the next six months.

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(With agency inputs)