Rumblings in Congress after Padma honour for Azad

The Union government’s decision to confer Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad with the Padma Bhushan award , and former Union minister and the Congress’s chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh’s swipe at Azad, who is part of a group of Congress leaders who have ben demanding changes in how the party is run, have resulted in a flood of support for the leader, and not just from the so-called “G-23”.

Soon after the award was announced, another member of G-23, senior Congress man Kapil Sibal tweeted, “Ghulam Nabi Azad conferred Padam Bhushan. Congratulations bhaijan. Ironic that the Congress doesn’t need his services when the nation recognises his contributions to public life.”

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His reference was likely to Azad’s omission from the star campaigners’ list for West Bengal, Kerala and Assam, which had elections last year. Some Congress leaders also believe that the party did not try too hard to get Azad re-elected to the Rajya Sabha, despite the obvious challenges in this given its diminished political footprint. To be sure, Azad was included as a star campaigner for Uttar Pradesh elections in a list released by the party this week Azad led the G-23, the group of 23 senior Congress leaders ,who, in August 2020, wrote a letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi seeking an overhaul in the party.

Another G 23 member and former Union minister, Anand Sharma, tweeted, “Heartiest congratulations to Ghulam Nabi ji for well-deserved recognition of his lifelong enriching contribution to public service and Parliamentary democracy.’’ And so did Shashi Tharoor, another G-23 leader: “Warm congratulations to Shri @ghulamnazad on his Padma Bhushan. It is good to be recognized for one’s public service even by a government of the other side,” Tharoor tweeted.

Manish Tewari, also part of G-23 tweeted, “I congratulate @ghulamnazad on being conferred the Padma Bhushan for his public Service. It is a well-deserved recognition.”

The rally of support came after Rajya Sabha MP Ramesh’s harsh words soon after the awards were announced. Referring to former Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s refusal to accept the Padma Bhushan, he tweeted, ‘’ Right thing to do. He wants to be Azad (free) not Ghulam (a slave).’’

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The party remained silent and didn’t comment on this exchange. However, the episode was criticised by the old guard of the party, even those who aren’t a part of the G23. Former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar said, “Congress Rajya Sabha Whip’s criticism of Ghulam Nabi Azad for receiving the Padma award is nothing less than a shameful innuendo intended to rob both the award and its recipient of the deserved dignity . Such a mindset does not to justice to the dignitarian ethos of the Congress.’’

The award and the aftermath resulted in speculation about Azad leaving the Congress party, and perhaps forming a regional outfit in J&K , with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He issued a clarification that he had not changed his bio on twitter: “Some mischievous propaganda being circulated by some people to create confusion. Nothing has been removed or added to my Twitter profile. The profile is as it was earlier.”