Ghulam Nabi Azad says will announce the new party of Kashmir in 10 days with a topmost priority of restoration of statehood to J&K.
Former Congress Chief Minister who recently left Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad says will announce the new party of Kashmir in 10 days with a topmost priority of restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and “protection of the rights of locals” to land and employment.
Weeks after quitting the Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said he would announce a new party in 10 days. Addressing a public meeting in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, Azad said, “I thank my colleagues who stand with me and are the base of my new party which, God willing, will be announced within the next 10 days.”
Asserting that the ideology of the new political outfit will be “independent”, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said its agenda would be to fight for the restoration of J&K’s statehood and also for the job and land rights of people. However, he made it clear that he will not mislead the people over the issue of Article 370.
“Azad knows what can and cannot be done. I or the Congress party or three regional parties cannot give you back Article 370, neither can (TMC chief) Mamata Banerjee, or DMK or (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar,” he said, pointing out that only a government with a two-thirds majority in the Parliament can ensure the restoration of the provision.
Ghulam Nabi Azad addresses the public meeting in Baramulla on Sunday. “My party will be Azad. Many of my colleagues said we should name the party as Azad. But, I said never. But, its ideology will be independent, and will not join or merge with any other. That may happen after my death, but not till then,” the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir added.
He also stated that he was not against any political party, be it national or regional. “Many people across party lines are my friends,” he said. Earlier this month, while addressing his maiden rally in Jammu and Kashmir post resigning from the Congress, Azad stressed that his new party would bring together the people of the two provinces of the Union Territory, with its topmost agenda being the restoration of statehood to J&K and “protection of the rights of locals” to land and employment.
In an earlier interview with The Indian Express, Azad said he had received calls from “unexpected quarters”, who could not come out “openly” because of his plans for a national and a state party. “The national party is not my priority at the moment. Because that needs a lot of consultations and other seniors have to be in the fold. That would be done in consultation with them. When we announce that, we are launching a national party, definitely people will come. My first priority is J&K and 90 percent of the Congress [J&K] has come with me already,” Azad said.
His Achievements
Ghulam Nabi Azad is well-known for his organizational skills. He holds the desirable record of being the AICC General Secretary for nine times. He has been a member of the Congress Working Committee for over 18 years, which is close to the longest period served by any other party leader. He was the Parliamentary Affairs Minister of India in the government of Manmohan Singh till October 2005. He also became the first Congress CM of Jammu & Kashmir after a gap of 30 years.
He also led the party successfully in the 2002 Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award, in 2022 by the Indian Government in the field of Public Affairs.
He was the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare. He is often considered as the ‘crisis manager’ of the Congress party. He built the Tulip garden in Kashmir, previously named Model Floriculture Centre. It is built in the foothills of the Zabarwan Mountains and has a picturesque Dal Lake. This garden was created, conceptualized, and conceived in memory of Indira Gandhi by J & K former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Over 12 lack tulip bulbs of 68 varieties of different colors are sown in November and December.