The Congress on Tuesday questioned the timing of Ghulam Nabi Azad's letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi attacking the leadership and asked why this "divine knowledge" did not dawn upon him before 2021 "when his seat and bungalow were safe".

Amidst the slugfest between Congress and Azad, senior Congress leaders and members of G-23 Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma and Prithviraj Chavan met Azad at his residence. Sharma, Hooda and Chavan held discussions at Azad's residence and are learnt to have discussed the future strategy of the G-23.

"Whoever resigns from the party, writes five-page letters. Going by the English used in the letter, it seems some Britisher has written that. But the question is why did this divine knowledge not come to you before 2021? All answers lie in that," Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said at AICC Press conference.

The party further took a jibe saying now that Azad's Rajya Sabha seat and his Delhi bungalow are not safe, "divine knowledge has dawned upon him and he is writing five-page letters in British English. 

Asked about Azad's attacks on the Congress leadership while severing five-decade-long ties with the party, Vallabh said, "The divine knowledge which was attained today, why was that not attained before 2021? Because before 2021 your seat was secure and your bungalow was safe. When there was a crisis on the seat and the bungalow, divine knowledge dawned on you and now you are writing big letters," he said.

In a fresh attack on the Congress, former leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday said the "ailing" party needs medicines which are being provided by compounders instead of doctors.

In the G23 members meeting with Azad they are learnt to have also discussed the organisational elections, including that of the Congress president, amid reports that Shashi Tharoor, who is a member of the group, is considering contesting the election for the top party post.

The G-23 had written a letter to Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 demanding an organisational overhaul and elections at all levels of the party. The G-23 had also been critical of certain decisions of the party leadership. Tuesday's meeting comes days after Azad resigned from the Congress and announced that he will float his own outfit in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of assembly elections there.