Ghulam Nabi Azad attacks Rahul Gandhi: ‘Seeks refuge in minority-dominated states’
Lok Sabha elections: Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that Rahul Gandhi shows "reluctance" in engaging in direct confrontations.
Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed on Wednesday that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi didn't want to contest the Lok Sabha elections from BJP-ruled states. Referring to the MP's nomination from Kerala's Wayanad, the former Congress leader saidRahul Gandhi seeks refuge in minority-dominated states.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, who quit the Congress in 2022, called Rahul Gandhi and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah “spoon-fed kids”. He said they have done nothing on their own.
He refuted the Congress' claims that Rahul Gandhi was putting up a brave fight against the BJP.
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"Why is Rahul Gandhi hesitant to contest in the BJP-ruled states? While Gandhi claims to be fighting the BJP, his actions suggest otherwise. Why fly from the BJP-ruled states and seek refuge in minority-dominated ones?" Azad said while addressing public meetings in Sangaldan, Ukhral areas of the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency.
Rahul Gandhi lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi but won from Wayanad. On Wednesday, when asked whether he would contest the polls from his family's former stronghold, he said he would do what the party decides.
Ghulam Nabi Azad accused Rahul Gandhi of showing "reluctance" in engaging in direct confrontations and a "tendency to seek out safe seats" where minority populations are sizable.
Attacking Gandhi and Abdullah, he said they have never made any personal sacrifices.
"They have not made personal sacrifices in life and are merely enjoying political legacies inherited from figures like Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah. Both have done nothing on their own," he added.
"Abdullah is campaigning in the Chenab valley against the DPAP, not the BJP. He has been tasked to divide the secular votes. He did nothing for his own constituency," he claimed.
Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the Congress in 2022 after being sidelined. In a five-page letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad had said the situation in the Congress had reached a point of “no return”.
"The entire organisational election process is a farce and a sham. At no place anywhere in the country have elections been held at any level of the organisation. Handpicked lieutenants of the AICC have been coerced to sign on lists prepared by the coterie that runs the AICC sitting in 24 Akbar Road," Azad had written.
Voting for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections will start tomorrow. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.
With inputs from PTI