Congress should forget ‘Bharat jodo’, focus on ‘parivar chhodo’: BJP on Azad’s resignation
NEW DELHI: The BJP claimed on Friday that Ghulam Nabi Azad’s resignation from the Congress reflects “a vote of no-confidence” in the leadership of the opposition party, which has now become a “family firm”.
The Congress should forget “Bharat jodo” (unify India) and undertake a “Parivar chhodo” (quit family) exercise,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a party statement, taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s proposed “Bharat jodo yatra”.
Poonawalla said Azad’s resignation letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi reflects how it is impossible for any person to be “azad” (free) in the Congress and one can only be a “ghulam or darbari” (slave) in the party.
“In fact, the INC should not be called Indian National Congress but I Need Coterie,” he said.
The BJP spokesperson noted that a number of senior Congress leaders quit the party in the last few years and identified the same issues as flagged by Azad for their decision.
“Yet, the Congress continues to put Parivar above performance and sycophancy above merit and engages in ‘Beta Bachao’ rather than ‘party bachao’,” he alleged.
“It also exposes the lack of internal democracy, accountability and elections within the Congress and also, how the first family of the Congress believes in remote controlling rather than allowing transparency and accountability,” he further claimed.
If anyone raises his or her voice for ensuring these reforms, they are “insulted” and thrown out of the party, Poonawalla said, alleging that this shows the lack of tolerance within the Congress.
“Ironically, the Congress party preaches democracy across the country but has made itself democracy-free,” he said.
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina claimed that Azad was forced to resign from the Congress as he was insulted and harassed in the party, which is a sunken ship now. Azad ended his five-decade association with the Congress on Friday, saying it was “comprehensively destroyed” and lashing out at Rahul Gandhi for “demolishing” its entire consultative mechanism. (PTI)
