Azad swears by ‘Ganga-Jamuni’ culture; says people will decide name, flag of his party
Speaking from a public platform for the first time since quitting the Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad said the people will decide the name and flag of his new party. He also said his new party will be envisioned on the lines of the Ganga-Jamuni culture as promoted by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir will decide the name and the flag for the party. I will give a Hindustani name to my party that everyone can understand,” Azad said at a rally in Jammu on Sunday. “The name of the party and its flags will be in line with the Ganga-Jamuni culture as envisioned by Prime Minister Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru after India’s independence on August 25, 1947,” he added.
Also read: Azad slams Cong again: ‘Cong taking medicines from compounders, not doctors’
Azad spells out his agenda
Azad asked the people to dismantle the walls of hatred being raised between them and help him take Jammu and Kashmir to newer heights. He said that his new party’s main agenda would be restoration of statehood, protecting the rights of the local domiciles when it comes to land and jobs, addressing the problem of unemployment, and ensuring honourable and safe return of migrant Kashmiri Pandits.
“I am always with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Right now, I am not the chief minister or any minister. I am just a human. In the past one week, many people have resigned from the Congress and have supported me,” Azad said during his address.
Azad reached the venue after a rousing reception by his supporters at Jammu airport. Azad, who had been chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008, wore a Dogra turban to strike a chord with Jammu.
Expressing concern over the killings of migrants, including Kashmiri Pandits who had gone back to Valley as part of PM’s employment package, Azad said that the bloodshed should stop now.
Former ministers mark their presence
Former ministers Taj Mohiuddin, Abdul Majid Wani, Manohar Lal Sharma, GM Saroori, RS Chin, Jugal Kishore, Peerzada Mohd Sayeed and former MLA Balwan Singh, who were present on the occasion, pitched Azad as the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Former MLAs Suhaib Lone, who had joined Apni Party, and Syed Bashir, who was a minister during the coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, too, were present on the dias.
Azad will be meeting party workers in Jammu over the next four days and move to Chenab Valley, Pir Panchal and other areas of Jammu division and also the Kashmir Valley.
Also read: 64 J&K Congress leaders quit party in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad
With Azad signalling that he will float a new party, 64 leaders have resigned from the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, former J&K deputy chief minister Tara Chand among them. Over 36 Congress leaders, including leaders of the National Students’ Union of India, the youth wing of the Congress party, from various universities in Jammu have also submitted their resignations in solidarity with Azad.
