On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an emotional moment in the Upper House as he bid farewell to the Congress MP, saying that opposition leaders who would replace Azad “will have difficulty matching their work as Mr. Azad only worries It was not about his party but also about the country and the house. “
Azad is scheduled to retire on February 15 and will vacate the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, is one of the four members to retire from the upper house this month.
Azad became a Rajya Sabha member representing Maharashtra before becoming the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 1990. He was an MP from the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2009, before becoming the leader of the opposition elected by the Congress in 2014.
“If any Muslim should take pride in the world, it must be an Indian Muslim. Over the years, we have seen how Muslim countries are being destroyed from Afghanistan to Iraq. There are no Hindus or Christians, they are among themselves. Fighting, ”said Azad, on an emotional note.
However, he announced his retirement in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, saying that he is a “proud Indian Muslim”. There is speculation that Azad may return to the Rajya Sabha by nominating from Kerala in April.
The Congress is now considering some other leaders for the post such as Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge who has frequently raised issues on behalf of the party in the Lok Sabha, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma Digvijay Singh, and MP. Kapil Sibal, however, had suggested in the past a change of party, which could work against him.