Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's nephew joins BJP in Jammu
Jammu(PTI): Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's nephew Mubashir Azad joined the BJP on Sunday and said he was "influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's developmental works at the ground level".
Mubashir Azad, the son of Ghulam Nabi Azad's youngest brother Liaqat Ali, also said his uncle was "disrespected" by the Congress leadership which hurt him and led to him parting ways with the grand old party.
He, however, claimed that he did not discuss the plan to join the BJP with his uncle.
Mubashir Azad and his supporters were welcomed into the party fold by Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina and other senior leaders, including ex-MLA Daleep Singh Parihar.
His joining the saffron party was described Raina as a "turning point" that will pave the way for more young activists from the Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts of the Chenab Valley region to join the party.
"The BJP is growing fast with the joining of political leaders from opposition parties, social workers from all communities whether Hindus, Muslims, Gujjars, Bakarwals and Paharis," he said.
In April 2009, Azad's brother Ghulam Ali had also joined the BJP.
Mubashir Azad said, "The (Congress) party is marred in infighting... while under the leadership of Modi the work for the welfare of the people is taking place on the ground."
"The way the Congress treated (Ghulam Nabi) Azad, one of the charismatic leaders of the party and former chief minister, has hurt the sentiments of the common masses.
"He was praised by the prime minister for his service to the nation but was sidelined by the party, Mubashir said.
Azad was part of the G-23, a group of dissenting Congress leaders who wrote to party president Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 demanding an organisational overhaul.
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Manmohan Singh saved India from economic crisis and debt trap: Deve Gowda
Bengaluru (PTI): Terming former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's death a "great loss" for the nation, JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda on Friday credited him with "saving the country" from an economic crisis and preventing it from falling into a "debt trap".
The former Prime Minister described Singh as a simple, honest, and gentlemanly figure. Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, passed away in New Delhi on Thursday night at the age of 92.
Manmohan Singh served as the Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government in 1991, during one of the most critical economic periods in the country's history. He took on the responsibility and did his utmost to save the nation from the economic crises, Gowda said.
Speaking to reporters, he said otherwise, the country would have fallen into a debt trap. "Such was the severity of the situation. To address this, the Narasimha Rao government with Singh as the Finance Minister made the decision to pledge 130 tonnes of gold."
Singh then introduced economic reforms such as liberalisation, privatisation, and foreign direct investment, Gowda said, adding that all these initiatives were implemented by him as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.
Manmohan Singh was a distinguished economist who worked at the World Bank, served as the Reserve Bank Governor, and acted as an advisor to the Government of India. With his vast experience, he went on to serve the nation for ten years as Prime Minister. His death is a great loss to the nation, he added.
