In a massive show of support, thousands of people in Srinagar chanted, ‘Chief minister kaisa ho? Ghulam Sahib jaisa ho (How should our chief minister be? He should be like Ghulam sahib) despite heavy rains in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad of Democratic Azad Party. Addressing the massive gathering in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, Azad has stressed the message of communal harmony and brotherhood for the progress of the region.
“In political life, we should not indulge in such things. Those who indulge in propaganda during elections, ask for votes in the name of religion, be it Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh, I am strictly against it. For those of us in politics, just like we cannot take a bite of our food without our five fingers, we have different religions. Until and unless people of all religions come together, we cannot make the nation strong,” Ghulam Nabi Azad has said.
He has also assured that upon his return to power, he will fulfil the promise of development initiated by him during his short term as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
He has added that the removal of unemployment, the stepping up of development, which includes the development of schools, colleges, hospitals, and availability of roads, and regular supply of electricity will be the priorities of his government.
Months after exiting the decades-long association with the Congress party, Azad on Sunday said that he was not against its policy of secularism but its weak party system. While talking to the press in Srinagar, he said, “Although I have separated from Congress, I wasn’t against their policy of secularism. It was only due to the party’s system getting weakened.”
On Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hinting at the Center thinking of restoring state status to J&K, he said that he had taken this issue many times and if the Central Government does it, that’s a welcome step.
Earlier on 26 August , Azad ended his 52-year association with the Congress party. In October, Azad announced his new political outfit, the “Democratic Azad Party.” In his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, he targeted the party leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, over the way the party has been run in the past nearly nine years.
In the hard-hitting five-page letter, Azad claimed that a coterie runs the party while Sonia Gandhi is just “a nominal head” and all the major decisions are taken by Rahul Gandhi, or rather, his security guards and PAs.
He was earlier the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Recounting his long association with the Congress, Azad said the situation in the party has reached a point of “no return.”
While Azad took potshots at Sonia Gandhi in the letter, his sharpest attack was on Rahul Gandhi, and he described the Wayand MP as a “non-serious individual” and “immature.”
