Ghulam Nabi Azad quashes rumours of quitting Cong after being conferred with Padma Bhushan

Hours after he was conferred with Padma Bhushan, India's 3rd highest civilian award, Ghulam Nabi Azad quashed speculation of him quitting the Congress party. While rumours suggested that he removed Congress from his Twitter bio, the former J&K CM stressed that there has been no change whatsoever.

Earlier, his party colleagues and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh had taken a dig at Azad for not declining the Padma award on the lines of former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Taking to Twitter, he said, "Right thing to do. He (Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee) wants to be Azad not Ghulam". Rumour mills have been abuzz about his political future after retiring as a Rajya Sabha member in 2021. However, the senior Congress leader has often been critical of the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370. 

Ghulam Nabi Azad's fractured relationship with Congress

Incidentally, Ghulam Nabi Azad is one of the 23 senior Congress leaders who wrote to Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 regarding the uncertainty over the leadership and the drift in the party. The letter reportedly mentioned many suggestions such as the need for a full-time leadership available at the national and state headquarters, conducting elections at all levels including the Congress Working Committee and state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party's revival. In February 2021, the ex-J&K CM also faced protests for praising PM Modi.

Heaping praises on PM Modi in his address on February 28, 2021, Azad said, "I like a lot of good things about many leaders. I come from a village and I am very proud of it. Our Prime Minister also admits that he comes from a village, and even though we are against each other in politics, but he doesn't hide his reality, his roots. If you try and hide your reality, then you are living in a false world."

The infighting in Congress spilled over to J&K as the leaders close to the ex-CM quit their party positions in November 2021. Ex-MLAs and Ministers such as GM Saroori, Vikar Rasool Wani, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Manohar Lal Sharma, Naresh Gupta, Ghulam Nabi Monga, Subash Gupta, Amin Bhat and Anwar Bhat submitted their resignations to party president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and AICC J&K in-charge Rajani Patil, sources told Republic TV.

Speaking to Republic TV on December 26, Azad said, "I am a Congressman, who told you I am not a Congressman. Maybe 18 carats must be questioning the 14 carats."