One of the tallest members of the Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad, announced his resignation today and launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of acting "childishly," displaying "glaring immaturity," and allowing a "coterie of untrained sycophants" to govern the party.
He blamed Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul for the Congress's loss in the 2014 national election, a turning point for the party that has since struggled to win elections, in a scathing five-page letter of resignation.
He claimed that the Congress is "completely wrecked" and has passed the point of no return and criticised a "remote control paradigm" in which Sonia Gandhi serves as "only a nominal figurehead" and Rahul Gandhi, or worse, his bodyguards and PAs, make crucial decisions.
A faction of the Congress has accused Mr. Azad, who was given the Padma Bhushan last year, of cozying up to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who calls him a close friend. Mr. Azad, a member of the Congress for more than 50 years, dropped the bombshell while all three Gandhis were away.
In his leaving statement, Mr. Azad said that the reason the Congress had given political ground to the BJP and regional parties over the previous eight years was because the leadership had "tried to impose a non-serious individual" as party head. The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir claimed that he joined the Congress in the 1970s, when affiliation with the party in his home state was still frowned upon. Mr. Azad was a key figure in the G-23, or the group of 23 "dissenters," who submitted a letter to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 demanding a total restructure of the company and a full-time, collective, and visible leadership.
He claimed that following that letter, he was attacked, demonised, and degraded. According to Mr. Azad, the Congress has lost both the desire and the capacity to stand up for India's interests "under the tutelage of the cabal" that controls it.
The former member of the Rajya Sabha claimed that the leadership should have engaged in a "Congress Jodo" exercise rather than a "bharat Jodo" campaign in which Rahul Gandhi will tour the nation.
The resignation of a top politician soon before the party's significant "Bharat Jodo" campaign, which Rahul Gandhi will address, was deemed "very unfortunate" by the Congress.