Infighting over Padma award: Karan Singh backs Ghulam Nabi Azad

“Right thing to do. He wants to be Azad, not Ghulam,” tweeted Jairam Ramesh in reference to former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s refusal to accept the Padma Bhushan

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Karan Singh on Thursday backed his party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad, calling him a “well-deserved” candidate for India’s third highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan.

Congress leader Karan Singh. (PTI/File)

“These national awards should not become a subject of inter-party controversy, far less of intra-party ones… If one of our colleagues is honoured, he should be greeted with warm appreciation rather than snide remarks,” said Singh.

Congress leaders, who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking an overhaul of the party, congratulated Azad. But another leader Jairam Ramesh took a dig at Azad. “Right thing to do. He wants to be Azad, not Ghulam,” he tweeted in reference to former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s refusal to accept the Padma Bhushan.

There was speculation about Azad leaving the Congress and forming an outfit in Jammu and Kashmir with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He issued a clarification denying this. “Some mischievous propaganda being circulated by some people to create confusion. Nothing has been removed or added to my Twitter profile. The profile is as it was earlier.”