Jammu- Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said Ghulam Nabi Azad’s resignation from Congress was an internal matter of the party, even though it showed lack of internal democracy in the party.
He said BJP is the only option left in the country with its democratic values.
It is an internal matter of Congress but as a responsible citizen of a democratic country, one expects that there should be internal democracy in every party, just as we follow the democratic values, Singh, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office, said here on Azad’s resignation.
If internal democracy is not followed in the party, then it is a cause of concern for its leaders and they should think over it, he said.
The minister said a recent survey put Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the top of the list of the most popular world leaders with an approval rating of 75 per cent and Congress too should be proud of the fact.
BJP is the only option left in the country. Modi is not only popular in the country but a recent survey at the international level put him at the top spot once again, which is a proud moment for all of us.
Congress should also be proud about it as an Indian leader has emerged as the most popular leader at the global level, he said.
Asked whether BJP will welcome Azad in its fold, he said it is up to him to decide his next course of action. It will be his decision what to do next.
On the timing of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, he said it is the prerogative of the Election commission of India to decide the date of the polls and BJP has no role in it.
Earlier, addressing a seminar on waste to wealth organised under Ek Kaam Desh Ke Naam programme here, he said there is a need to create awareness about several waste products which can help people generate income with little effort.
He said cooked oil from kitchens could be sold at about Rs 20 per litre to the industries which have the technology to convert it into alternative fuel.
He also said that fly ash, produced during combustion of coal, could be used for making bricks for construction.
Referring to the Amrit Kaal’, the PM’s buzzword for great times ahead, the minister said that India will see a surge in its economy in the next 25 years, and this will come on the back of resources, which have yet been unexplored or couldn’t be utilised because of lack of technology.
Azad Resigned Over Personal Differences: Tariq Karra
Ghulam Nabi Azad’s resignation had nothing to do with ideological differences with the party but was mainly due to personal reasons, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Tariq Hameed Karra said on Saturday.
He also said Azad’s resignation was not surprising because for the “last two years, there have been murmurs about it”.
Talking to reporters here, Karra said, “Rather than having convictional or ideological differences, Azad’s resignation was on personal differences or animosity. When he says he was not being taken onboard, he should remember he was onboard for the last 50 years. When he says sycophants were there, perhaps it would have been said about him also before.”
He said there was no mention of ideological differences anywhere in Azad’s resignation letter “but it was purely on personal grounds”.
The Congress leader claimed that the prime minister “gave a tearful send off to Azad after he retired from Rajya Sabha and made it clear that he (Azad) will not be wasted and will soon be appointed on a special mission”.
Karra said was working independently in Jammu and Kashmir for the last few months and had raised questions on the leadership of the party.
“Why does Azad choose to show his resentment whenever Congress president is not well, is hospitalised, or outside for treatment,” he asked.
Karra said the public perception is that the BJP will benefit from Azad’s resignation.
“The situation we have been seeing for the last couple of years, the way the prime minister gave a tearful send off to Azad and the sequences after that, it seems there is a hidden hand behind the move whose direct or indirect benefit will reach the BJP,” he claimed.
Karra said the BJP has “understood that the fragmentation process it had started in J-K has not succeeded and so, a new entity is being propped up”.
He added that though the BJP will try a new sort of facilitation, the Congress, especially in J-K, will fight out this new attempt of fragmentation.
Asked if some J-K Congress leaders will leave the party, Karra said their track record should be checked.
“All those who have left the party have been direct or indirect beneficiaries of Azad and not the Congress. Also, none among those who left are intellectual entities because it has been seen that Azad has kept only mediocre people around him and he gets uncomfortable if there is some intellectual or educated person or someone whose image is better than him,” he claimed.
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