A day after former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi kept in touch with ‘undesirable businessmen’, the Congress on Monday said his statements were ‘contemptible’ that reflected his desperation to stay relevant.
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“With every passing day, Ghulam Nabi Azad falls to new depths to demonstrate his true character and his loyalty to Mr. [Narendra] Modi. His contemptible statements on the Congress leadership reflect his desperation to remain relevant. I can only say that he is PATHETIC,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.
In an interview with Malayalam News channel Asianet News, Mr. Azad had said, “The entire family [Gandhis] has associations with businessmen, including him [Mr. Gandhi]. I can give you 10 examples of where he would go even outside the country, to meet people who are undesirable businessmen.”
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On Saturday, Mr. Gandhi in a tweet alleged that Mr. Azad along with other leaders Congress-turned-BJP leaders such as Jyotiraditya Scindia, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kiran Kumar Reddy and Anil K. Antony were trying to divert attention from the Adani issue by targeting him.
Mr. Azad has been giving a series of interviews alongside the formal launch of his autobiography in which he has blamed Mr. Gandhi for mishandling several key political issues, including that of replacing Tarun Gogoi as the Chief Minister of Assam with Mr. Sarma.
In the book, Mr. Azad had claimed that while then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had given the go-ahead for the leadership change in Assam, Mr. Gandhi did not allow it after Tarun Gogoi and his son and Lok Sabha member Gaurav Gogoi met him.
“It has come to my notice through media reports that Ghulam Nabi Azad ji has made certain references to me and my late father regarding a meeting in Delhi. The story is pure fiction and imagination and the book should be publicised as such,” tweeted Mr. Gogoi.