GM Saroori, Haji Abdul Rashid, Mohd Amin Bhat, Gulzar Ahmad Wani, and Choudhary Mohd Akram tendered their resignations from the primary membership of the Congress "in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad" on Friday, 26 August, reported news agency ANI.
"We, the 5 MLAs and ex-minsters, are resigning from the Congress party in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad. Now, only the JKPC president will be left alone," the Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader GM Saroori was quoted as saying.
With a scathing attack on the Congress' central leadership, including party president Sonia Gandhi and its former chief Rahul Gandhi, veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned from the party earlier in the day.
Amid the spate of resignations on Friday, senior Congress leader and former J&K minister RS Chib also announced his exit from the primary membership of the party.
Attaching his resignation letter, Chib wrote in a tweet, "Keeping in view in betterment of my state, I feel that the Congress party has failed to contribute in the absence of a decisive leader like Ghulam Nabi."
Azad Resigns, Likely to Float New Party
On Friday morning, Ghulam Nabi Azad, in a 5-page letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi, levelled several allegations against Rahul Gandhi.
Although he hasn't confirmed it yet, several reports suggest that Azad is likely to float a new party.
Chib said, "We knew he would resign, had been having these talks for the past two months."
"Ghulam Nabi Azad was pushed against the wall by the party High Command, he had no choice but to quit the party & it's primary membership," he added.
"Congress lost decisive leadership both at the central and state levels. This loss caused party's graph to decline... GN Azad is a leader himself, his decision is his own. But we will stay with him in whatever he decides," RS Chib told ANI following his departure, also hinting at the formation of a separate camp.
He added, "Ghulam Nabi Azad was pushed against the wall by the party High Command, he had no choice but to quit the party."
Friday's slew of exits also come as a jolt to the national party that has recently seen a string of resignations, including of senior leaders like Jaiveer Shergill, Kapil Sibal, Ashwani Kumar, Hardik Patel, and Sunil Jhakhar.
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