After quitting Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad set to hold his first public rally

New Delhi, Aug 30: Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and former veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who quit Congress, will hold a public meeting in Sainik Colony on 4th September.

This will be his first public meeting after quitting Congress.

Azad is all set to launch his own party and its first unit would come up in Jammu and Kashmir within a fortnight, his close confidant GM Saroori said today. Saroori asserted that the restoration of the pre-August 5, 2019 position of Jammu and Kashmir will be part of the party's manifesto, news agency PTI reported.

On the other hand, as many as three Congress leaders who are also a part of G23 have reached the residence of former party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in the national capital. The leaders are ex-Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, ex-Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda and Anand Sharma.

Azad on Friday resigned from all posts of the party, citing the "immaturity" of Rahul Gandhi, whom he blamed for "demolishing the consultative mechanism" in the party. The 'G23' leaders included Shashi Tharoor, Azad (former leader), Mani Shankar Aiyar, Manish Tiwari and others who have been vocal about organisational changes in the Congress party.

Earlier in the day, as many as 64 senior Congress leaders, including former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, resigned from the party in support of veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

According to sources, the leaders submitted their resignations to Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi. On Saturday, several political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir met veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is planning to launch a new national party, a day after tendering resignations from all posts of Congress.