With two more leaders resigning from the newly-floated Democratic Azad Party (DAP) of Ghulam Nabi Azad, General Secretary in-charge Communications of Congress party Jairam Ramesh mocked his former party colleague by calling his party a "Disappearing Azad Party".
Jairam Ramesh reacted to a tweet from Youth Congress leader Dr. Jahanzaib Sirwal who pointed toward the resignation spree in the DAP.
"After Melbourne the fastest pitch to have the highest number of wicket fall is DAP", the Youth Congress leader tweeted. Reacting to this tweet, Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Disappearing Azad Party".
Earlier on Monday, Jairam Ramesh asked Ghulam Nabi Azad to join Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. "If Ghulam Nabi Azad believes in Gandhian philosophy and secularism, he should join Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra", he said.
Two more leaders resigned from Azad's party
Meanwhile, two more senior leaders have resigned from former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad-led Democratic Azad Party (DAP in Jammu and Kashmir. Former MLC Nizamuddin Khatana, who was general secretary of DAP, and his son Gulzar Ahmad have resigned from the party today.
These leaders have resigned from the basic membership and all posts of the party and have tendered their resignations to party's high command.
Disappearing Azad Party https://t.co/aau1DqqvbE
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 10, 2023
"In view of the present political development, I, Choudhary Nizam ud din Khatana Former MLC, hereby tender my resignation from the post of General Secretary of DAP including the basic membership of DAP. This may be regarded as my resignation letter," Khatana said in his resignation letter.
The exit of the father-son duo was expected after former minister Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed returned to Congress. Choudhary Gulzar is considered one of the strong contenders for the Larnoo seat, which is reserved for the scheduled Tribes. Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed has influence in the seat as several areas of the erstwhile Kokernag assembly segment are part of the newly carved out ST seat.
Leaders continue to desert DAP
On December 22, the Democratic Azad Party faced a severe setback when its three top leaders- former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, former minister Manohar Lal Sharma and Balwan Singh- were expelled on charges of indulging in anti-party activities.
On January 6, at least seventeen loyalists of Ghulam Nabi Azad, including two political stalwarts who were expelled from the Democratic Azad Party (DAP) on Friday rejoined the Congress party in New Delhi. Former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand along with former J&K Congress chief Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, ex-MLA Thakur Balwan Singh, and others rejoined the Congress party.
The leaders had resigned in support of former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who later floated his own party—the Democratic Azad Party, which has now been renamed as Democratic Progressive Azad Party.
Tara Chand, Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed, Balwan Singh, Muzaffar Paray, Advocate Mohinder Bhardwaj, Bhushan Dogra, Virodh Sharma, Narendra Sharma, Naresh Sharma, Amresh Mangotra, Subhash Baghat, Santosh Manhas, Badrinath Sharma, Varun Mangotra, Anuradha Sharma, Chander Prabha Sharma, and Vijay Sargotra rejoined the Congress party.
