Ironic Congress doesn't need his services when nation recognises them: Sibal on Padma award to Azad

Ghulam Nabi Azad has sought an organisational overhaul, has been awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to public affairs

Padma Bhushan for senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad appears to have once again ignited a war within Congress.

Though not many have publicly joined the issue, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Wednesday saw the irony in the Congress not seeking his services even when the nation recognises his contribution as Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh made a cryptic tweet on Narendra Modi government bestowing the third highest civilian award on the Congress leader, exposing the further widening chasm.

There has been no statement from Congress or its former president Rahul Gandhi on Ghulam Nabi Azad. Azad has maintained a good relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is at loggerheads with the Congress leadership since August 2020 after he and 22 others wrote a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi seeking clarity and transparent leadership after they felt that the party was not headed in the right direction.

Read | Padma Awards 2022 triggers row as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee get Padma Bhushan

Detractors, on the other hand, were pointing out to Marxist veteran Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee declining the Padma Bhushan and wondering why Azad did not take such a stand.

Soon after the government announced the award for former Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Azad among others, there was chatter on social media about Azad jumping ship soon with some claiming that the leader from Jammu and Kashmir removed references to Congress from his profile, prompting an immediate denial.

"Some mischievous propaganda is 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" Azad tweeted.

The choice of conferring the award to Azad, a former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, and former West Bengal Chief Minister Bhattacharjee had created flutters in the Opposition circles even as the latter declined the award saying that he was never consulted while the CPI(M) noted that it was not the party's line to accept State honours.

Ramesh posted a cryptic tweet by playing on Azad's name and referring to Bhattacharjee's denial late Tuesday night, "Right thing to do. He (Bhattacharjee) wants to be Azad (independent) not Ghulam (slave)."

Ramesh had in August 2021 told DH that he had never seen Azad taking proactive steps for the Opposition like the present Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge did.

On Wednesday, a number of G-23 leaders or change-seekers came out in Azad's support. Sibal was the most vocal as he wondered why the party was not using the senior leader's services.

"...Congratulations bhaijan. Ironic that the Congress doesn’t need his services when the nation recognises his contributions to public life," Sibal tweeted.

Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari tweeted, "I congratulate Azad on being conferred the Padma Bhushan for his public Service. It is a well deserved recognition."

Another Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted, "Warm congratulations to Azad on his Padma Bhushan. It is good to be recognised for one's public service even by a government of the other side."

Sharma tweeted, "heartiest congratulations to Ghulam Nabi-ji for well-deserved recognition of his lifelong enriching contribution to public service and Parliamentary democracy."

Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, however, came out in support of Azad, saying, "Calling someone Azad for declining a national honour and Ghulam for accepting it, shows how shallow one’s thought is towards a national honour. This isn’t the first nor the last time that opposition leaders will be acknowledged for their work, please maintain that spirit and dignity."

There has been speculation that Azad may float a party or may even join the BJP. The rumours got more weight as he conducted a tour of Jammu and Kashmir in recent times.

While Azad was removed from the Disciplinary Committee of Congress a couple of months ago, he was listed as a star campaigner for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections though he had not been listed among the star campaigners for West Bengal elections last year.

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