PTI
New Delhi, 26 January
A day after being awarded the Padma Bhushan, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday sought to dispel speculations about his future political plans.
Reports claimed that he had changed his Twitter profile, but Azad, who has been critical of his party’s leadership and is the only Congress leader to be honored this year under the Modi government, denied it.
“Some mischievous propaganda is being spread by some people to create confusion. Nothing has been removed or added from my Twitter profile. The profile is the same as it was before,” Azad said on Twitter.
Nothing is written on Azad’s Twitter profile, nor is there any mention of the Congress party.
In the age of social media, Twitter profiles of leaders are keenly watched as many people change them before formally switching parties.
Azad, the former Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, is a prominent member of the G23 disgruntled leaders demanding an organizational change in the Congress and facing backlash from a section of the party.
After the Padma awards were announced on Tuesday evening, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh commented on CPI(M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s refusal to accept the award, saying “he wants to be a slave not azad”.
However, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who is also in G23, said on Wednesday that it is ironic that the Congress does not need Azad’s services when the nation recognizes his contribution to public life.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had praised Azad during his farewell speech to the Congress leader in the Upper House and the latter returned the sentiment.
Azad has recently traveled extensively in villages of Jammu and Kashmir and has received an encouraging response. Sources said that he is planning to visit Jammu and Kashmir again in the coming days.