Rahul Gandhi 'mismanaged' Himanta episode, Sonia didn't assert herself: Ghulam Nabi Azad in memoir
New Delhi, Mar 23: "Let him go" was Rahul Gandhi's blunt reply when told that Himanta Biswa Sarma, once the Congress' key leader in Assam, had the support of a majority of MLAs and would rebel and quit the party, Ghulam Nabi Azad writes in his autobiography "Azaad".
Azad, a former Congress loyalist who quit the party in August 2022 and launched his own regional party, also targets Sonia Gandhi and says she did not assert herself as party president "despite understanding the disastrous consequences that lay ahead".
Sarma, who went on to join the BJP and is the chief minister of Assam, was an important Congress strategist. Ten MLAs followed him when he quit the party in September 2015 over differences with the Congress leadership in Assam.
"Rahul told us bluntly that there would be no change in leadership. We pointed out to him (Rahul) that Himanta had the majority of MLAs and would rebel and quit the party. 'Let him go,' Rahul said. The meeting was over," Azad, 74, says in his autobiography that will release next month.
Azad, who is chairperson of the newly formed Democratic Progressive Azad Party, says Rahul Gandhi "mismanaged" the Sarma episode.
Sarma, 54, was appointed chief minister in 2021, just five years after leaving the Congress, after he ensured a second consecutive win for the BJP in Assam.
According to Azad, he was not sure if Rahul said what he did "to assert himself or because he was ignorant that his decision would have far-reaching consequences, not only in the state of Assam but the entire Northeast".
The former leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha says he apprised Sonia Gandhi of the new "twist in the tale" after the interaction with Rahul Gandhi.
"... it is rather unfortunate that she did not assert herself as the party president. Instead, she asked me to request Himanta to not rock the boat," Azad writes.
From devising a strategy with Indira Gandhi to bring Rajiv into politics and convincing Sonia to become the party chief to his mediation efforts in the tussle between Rahul Gandhi and Himanta Biswa Sarma, Ghulam Nabi in "Azaad" explores the challenges of leadership and the consequences of daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape, the publishers Rupa said in a statement.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ranchi: Temple guard bludgeoned to death during robbery attempt, 3 held
Ranchi (PTI): A 60-year-old security guard of a temple in Ranchi was bludgeoned to death with a stone during a robbery attempt, police said on Saturday.
The incident happened late on Thursday at the Jagannath Temple in the Dhurwa Smart City area, they said.
"Three persons were arrested on Friday for killing the security guard. They confessed to the crime and told police that the victim had identified them. Therefore, in fear of being caught, they killed him by attacking him with a stone on his head," SSP Rakesh Ranjan said.
"Thereafter, they took money from the donation box and fled the scene. Two of them have criminal antecedents," he added.
Ranjan said the investigators recovered Rs 3 lakh in cash that had been robbed, the stone with blood-stained marks, and the iron rod used to break open the lock of the donation box kept there.
An FIR in this regard was lodged at the Dhurwa police station, he said, adding that the accused were sent to judicial custody by a court.
