Image Source : PTI Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad
Sidelined by the Gandhi household, senior Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad was seen taking yet another step in a path that may deliver him a lot nearer to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. In what gave the impression to be a uncommon event, the Modi authorities on Saturday rolled out the crimson carpet for Azad whereas inviting him to a gala cultural occasion organised by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs.
Colourful posters and banners of the Congress stalwart had been put up throughout the Ambedkar International Centre, the venue of the occasion, the place Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Minister of State (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh welcomed the veteran Congressman, who was just lately praised for his statesmanship by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the farewell speech for the outgoing MPs within the Rajya Sabha.
Saturday’s occasion was the second such incident in a collection when the Modi authorities showered praises on Azad, who up until now could be seen as a dissenter by the Rahul Gandhi camp.
Once a diehard Rajiv Gandhi loyalist, Azad was not given one other time period within the Upper House. A number of days again, Mallikarjun Kharge, thought-about to be near the Gandhi household, was appointed because the Leader of Opposition within the Rajya Sabha rather than Azad.
Posters of a Congress chief at an occasion organised by the Modi authorities had been seen for the primary time within the nationwide capital. The viewers on the Ambedkar Centre had been shocked to see Azad seated alongside Jitendra Singh and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi within the VVIP entrance row. Incidentally, Singh and Azad each hail from Jammu and Kashmir.
The occasion titled “Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat”, a ‘Mushaira’ (Urdu poetry recital) organised by the federal government, formally acknowledged Azad as a visitor of honour. Most of the Urdu poets, together with Waseem Barelvi, a well known persona within the Urdu literary world, additionally praised the Congress chief. Several different poets additionally talked about Azad’s identify from the dais and addressed their poetic recitals to him.
While the Congress has not given any vital accountability to Azad since he retired from the Rajya Sabha, Saturday’s Mushaira is now being seen as an occasion which appears to have introduced Azad nearer in the direction of the BJP.
“Azad sahab is a real statesman, he could be the face of the BJP in the Valley in near future. A person like him commands respect across party lines,” mentioned a BJP functionary current on the auditorium.
Earlier on February 9, Prime Minister Modi bid a tearful farewell to the Congress veteran, saying that he revered Azadji as a “true friend” and won’t let him retire, and can proceed taking his recommendation.
Modi mentioned it might be troublesome for Azad’s successor within the Rajya Sabha to match him as he has set very excessive requirements as an MP and because the Leader of the Opposition.
Vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu additionally described Azad as a “voice of sanity in the nation’s public life”, and somebody who “speaks softly but conveys his point of view effectively”.
Modi’s emotional speech for Azad had led to hypothesis that the veteran Congress chief, sidelined by his social gathering excessive command, may be part of the ruling social gathering in days to come back.
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