Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from Congress on Friday. He called Rahul Gandhi childish and immature and Sonia Gandhi a figurehead while resigning.
The Congress party on Friday opened a front against Ghulam Nabi Azad, who resigned from all positions in the party and blasted Rahul Gandhi in his resignation letter, calling him immature and childish and blaming his leadership for the party's downfall.
Jairam Ramesh said that Azad's resignation revealed "his true character" and that his DNA has been "Modi-fied" — a reference to Azad allegedly doing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bidding.
He said, "A man who has been treated with the greatest respect by the Congress leadership has betrayed it by his vicious personal attacks which reveals his true character. GNA's [Ghulam Nabi Azad] DNA has been Modi-fied.
Linking Azad's resignation to the completion of his Rajya Sabha tenure, Pawan Khera of Congress also said that "Azad could not stay without a post even for a second".
"As soon your Rajya Sabha term got over, you got restless. You could not stay without a post even for a second," said Khera.
In a sharp comment on Twitter, Khera also appeared to say Azad's resignation a good riddance.
Azad's resignation came ahead of organisational elections, which he called "sham" in his resignation letter. He also accused the Gandhis-led Congress brass for committing "fraud" on the party.
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Friday expressed dismay and a "sense of betrayal" over Azad's resignation.
Diskhit also said he and Azad had raised a banner of reform, not a banner of revolt. This was a reference to the call for reforms in the party by the Group of 23 (G-23), a collective of senior party leaders which included Dikshit and Azad.
In a letter to Azad, Dikshit wrote, "When I read your letter of resignation, it gave me a sense of dismay and unfortunately, then a sense of betrayal."
"But leaving the party unfortunately strengthens the very policies, systems and people that made us write our letter of reform as a demand, as a duty and as our right. The Indian National Congress will be that much weaker without Ghulam Nabi Azad, but the Ghulam Nabi Azad who authores the G23 letter, not the Ghulam Nabi Azad who authored this resignation," Dikshit further said in his letter to Azad.
Gujarat Congress in-charge Raghu Sharma said that the Congress party gave everything to Azad and it did not behove him to make allegations while quitting.
Asked if Azad's exit would be a setback for the Congress, Sharma repeated Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's recent statement that those who were joining the party were welcome and those who were leaving were welcome to leave.
Sharma said, "Starting from the time of Indira Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi's era today, I have seen Azad progressing without looking back. The party made him a chief minister, central minister, Rajya Sabha MP, Lok Sabha MP and also AICC general secretary. It does not behove Azad to make allegations against the party while quitting, that too when you know very well that the party has given you so much.
Congress leader Ajay Maken said that it's unfortunate that Azad resigned at a time when all Congress workers are fighting on the street against inflation and polarisation in the country.
Maken turned a press conference originally called over the Delhi excise scandal into a response to Azad's resignation, in which he also invoked the leadership of the Gandhis who Azad had blasted in his resignation letter and had blamed for the downfall of the Congress party.
Maken said in Hindi: "It is very unfortunate that Gulam Nabi Azad has resigned at a time when, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and our president Sonia Gandhi, all Congress workers are on the streets on inflation, unemployment, and polarisation...It is very unfortunate that he has decided to resign and to leave the fight at this moment."
(With PTI inputs)