advertisement
GM Saroori, Haji Abdul Rashid, Mohd Amin Bhat, Gulzar Ahmad Wani, and Choudhary Mohd Akram tendered their resignations from the primary membership of the Congress "in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad" on Friday, 26 August, reported news agency ANI.
"We, the 5 MLAs and ex-minsters, are resigning from the Congress party in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad. Now, only the JKPC president will be left alone," the Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader GM Saroori was quoted as saying.
With a scathing attack on the Congress' central leadership, including party president Sonia Gandhi and its former chief Rahul Gandhi, veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from the party earlier in the day.
Attaching his resignation letter, Chib wrote in a tweet, "Keeping in view in betterment of my state, I feel that the Congress party has failed to contribute in the absence of a decisive leader like Ghulam Nabi."
On Friday morning, Ghulam Nabi Azad, in a 5-page letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi, levelled several allegations against Rahul Gandhi.
Chib said, "We knew he would resign, had been having these talks for the past two months."
"Ghulam Nabi Azad was pushed against the wall by the party High Command, he had no choice but to quit the party & it's primary membership," he added.
"Congress lost decisive leadership both at the central and state levels. This loss caused party's graph to decline... GN Azad is a leader himself, his decision is his own. But we will stay with him in whatever he decides," RS Chib told ANI following his departure, also hinting at the formation of a separate camp.
Friday's slew of exits also come as a jolt to the national party that has recently seen a string of resignations, including of senior leaders like Jaiveer Shergill, Kapil Sibal, Ashwani Kumar, Hardik Patel, and Sunil Jhakhar.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)