Supporters of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad may have been putting pressure on the party high command to announce him as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the Assembly polls in J&K, but on Monday firebrand Congress leader and two-time MP lal Singh trained his guns on the leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha before resigning from the party.
Without mincing any words, Singh squarely blamed Azad for ditching him and denying him the mandate to contest the lok Sabha polls from Udhampur-Doda seat. Azad himself lost the seat by a huge margin fighting against BJP’s Dr Jitendra Singh. lal Singh, famous for his straight talk, also announced his decision to contest the Assembly polls as an independent candidate from Basohli Assembly segment in Kathua district.
Making his decision to call it quits public, Singh said, “I am quitting the Congress because of Azad. I’ll campaign against him and the Congress in entire J&K in the next Assembly polls and expose the real face of Azad before people.” He said there was no place for the honest and hard working workers in the party. “I am feeling suffocated in the party for a long time,” he added.
Responding to a question over his future politics, Singh said, “I am receiving lot of offers from different political parties but I have not made up my mind to join anyone of them. At present I have made decided to contest from Basohli Assembly segment as an Independent candidate.” Speculation was rife that Singh may join hands with the PDP as the BJP was not keen on inducting him in the party due to his past record.
Flanked by his wife, Kanta Andotra, former Congress MP Singh said he workerd laboriously all his life for the welfare of the people and would continue to do so as leader of the masses. Singh shot to fame when Mufti Mohd Sayeed allotted him the Health portfolio after inducting him in his Cabinet in 2002. Mere mention of his name sent shock waves among the medical fraternity as he conducted surprise checks of health institutions to streamline the working of the department.
After winning lok Sabha polls in 2004 and 2009, Singh was aspiring to do hat-trick but his name was replaced with Azad’s in the last round of distribution of tickets.