Azad and two other Congress leaders resigned in J&K after disappointment over newly constituted campaign committee
Former Union Minister and Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad was appointed the chairman of the party’s campaign committee in the Union Territory. A few hours later, he declined the offer.
Azad has been a part of G23, a group critical of the Congress’s functioning and demanding organizational changes.Â
Congress President Sonia Gandhi also appointed Vikar Rasool Wani as J&K unit chief. He is considered close to Azad.
As part of a revamp, Raman Bhalla was named as a working president of the J&K Congress with former PDP leader Tariq Hamid Karra as vice chief of the campaign committee.Â
Azad refused to accept the offer of chairmanship of the J&K campaign committee, citing health reasons, according to a report by ANI.
Congress leader of Jammu, however, claimed that Azad had declined the offer as he was not happy with the newly appointed campaign committee. “The newly constituted campaign committee has ignored the aspirations of the party’s grassroots workers in J&K. Injustice has been meted out to them. That’s why Ghulam Nabi Azad has resigned as he was unsatisfied with the committee.
Two more Congress leaders have resigned from the committee in the J&K union territory. Congress leader and former MLA Gulzar Ahmed Wani resigned and said that he had resigned from the Congress Coordination Committee as he was not satisfied with the recent appointment of a new PCC chief in UT. He believes the decision is not in favor of the party.
Another leader, former MLA Haji Abdul Rashid Dar, resigned not only from the Congress Coordination Committee of the UT but also from the primary membership of the party. He said that no senior party leaders were consulted before choosing the new PCC chief of J&K. We have resigned in protest, “he added.”
The Centre wants to hold an assembly election in J&K after the completion of the delimitation exercise. Ghulam Ahmed Mir, who resigned in July after holding the post for eight years, replaces Wani.
Wani comes from Banihal town in the Ramban district of Jammu. He served as minister in the former Omar Abdullah-led NC-Congress coalition govt from 2009-14.
