Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday said meeting people from the rival political party and talking to them does not change the DNA of a person -- in a swipe at the Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who earlier said that Ghulam Nabi Azad's DNA had been 'modi-fied' after the former J&K chief minister quit the Congress last week. Azad will address a rally in Jammu on Sunday, his first public rally after his acrimonious exit from the Congress. Also Read | 'Ground reality': Jairam Ramesh's dig at Ghulam Nabi Azad's ‘Modi govt-sanctioned bungalow’
Azad's attack at the comments of the Congress leaders came a day ahead of his rally -- at a book release function in New Delhi.
The veteran J&K leader said many MPs spoke about him in his farewell from Parliament but only PM Modi's speech got highlighted. "If you meet people from other political parties and talk to them, it does not change your DNA," he said. Also Read | 'Used to think PM Modi is crude... but he showed humanity': Ghulam Nabi Azad
"MPs from 22 parties spoke about me (on my farewell) but only what the PM said was highlighted," Ghulam Nabi Azad added.
Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation with a 5-page letter lambasting Rahul Gandhi and his coterie triggered a war of words between him and the Congress leaders. His apparent closeness with PM Modi has been targetted by the Congress leaders who questioned why he still enjoys his bungalow and VIP security even after his retirement from Parliament. This stemmed from PM Modi's farewell speech during which PM Modi turned teary-eyed as he remembered his long association with Ghulam Nabi Azad. PM Modi mentioned the 2007 terror attack in J&K in which several people from Gujarat were killed. Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat while Ghulam Nabi Azad was J&k CM.
{{/usCountry}}Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation with a 5-page letter lambasting Rahul Gandhi and his coterie triggered a war of words between him and the Congress leaders. His apparent closeness with PM Modi has been targetted by the Congress leaders who questioned why he still enjoys his bungalow and VIP security even after his retirement from Parliament. This stemmed from PM Modi's farewell speech during which PM Modi turned teary-eyed as he remembered his long association with Ghulam Nabi Azad. PM Modi mentioned the 2007 terror attack in J&K in which several people from Gujarat were killed. Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat while Ghulam Nabi Azad was J&k CM.
{{/usCountry}}Referring to PM Modi's emotional farewell speech, Ghulam Nabi Azad recently said that PM Modi turned teary as he talked about the 2007 incident and not because Ghulam Nabi Azad was retiring but some "illiterate" Congressmen gave a twist.
"I used to think Modi sahab is a crude man. He does not have a wife or kids, I thought he won't care. But he showed humanity," Ghulam Nabi Azad said.