Former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad tendered his resignation to party leader Sonia Gandhi on Friday, August 26, 2022. Azad, who joined the party in the 1970s right after completing his studies at the University of Kashmir in Srinagar, has been an All India Youth Congress president, Union Minister, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the opposition leader in Rajya Sabha for a prolonged period.

In his letter to Sonia Gandhi, Azad pointed out the issues Congress are facing currently and called out Rahul Gandhi for his “immaturity” and “childish behaviour”. He also wrote that Congress is at a “point of no return.”

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“I took over as the National President of IYC in 1980. As President, I had the privilege of inducting your husband Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi into the Indian Youth Congress as a Member of the National Council,” he said.

The former Union Minister detailed the positions he had held within the Congress party, along with the ministerial designations.

Azad also pointed out how he had served the party at the cost of his health and family. He also wrote about the immense success of the UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments and said it was because the party president, Sonia Gandhi, listened to the advice of senior leaders and delegated power to them.

Azad lambasted current Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying after he entered politics and was appointed as the vice president, the pre-existing tradition of consulting was “demolished” by him. He continued by saying that the senior leaders were sidelined after Rahul Gandhi was incorporated into the party.

“One of the most glaring examples of this immaturity was the tearing up of a government ordinance in the full glare of the media by Shri Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

Azad pointed out that under the leadership of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party was humiliated in the Lok Sabha elections two consecutive times. Azad also talked about how Sonia Gandhi is holding an “interim president” role for three years after Rahul Gandhi stepped down.

The former minister also accused that the current party decisions are being taken by Rahul Gandhi or “rather worse his security guard’s and PA’s.”

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The 73-year-old is part of the G-23 group, which consists of 23 party leaders who sought to make changes to Congress and said that they were “attacked, vilified and humiliated.” He also described how the “coterie goondas” attacked Kapil Sibal’s residence, who was defending Sonia Gandhi and her family in court.

Ghulam Nabi Azad also admitted that the Congress has conceded political space at the national level to the ruling BJP and at the state level to the regional parties, for which he accused the party leadership.