Days after quitting India's main opposition party, Ghulam Nabi Azad has blamed Congress for hurling several "missiles" at him in the aftermath of his deciding to leave, and criticized the party's top leadership, especially Rahul Gandhi.
By "missiles" he was speaking metaphorically to several verbal attacks made on him by many of his former colleagues, including Congress Parliamentarian and General Secretary in-charge of the party's Communications, Jairam Ramesh.
By "missiles" he was speaking metaphorically to several verbal attacks made on him by many of his former colleagues, including Congress Parliamentarian and General Secretary in-charge of the party's Communications, Jairam Ramesh.
"[Congress] fired missiles at me, I only retaliated with a .303 rifle and they were destroyed. What would have happened if I'd used a ballistic missile?" Azad mused in a public meeting with locals in Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
The 73-year-old politician also remarked that despite Congress' efforts to humiliate him, he "retaliated" and "destroyed" the party in the Jammu and Kashmir union territory.
This seemed to be a subtle reference to the mass exodus from the Jammu and Kashmir branch of Congress where as many as 65 politicians, including former state deputy chief Tara Chand, have resigned and joined Azad.
Although acknowledging that he was all set to launch his political party in Jammu and Kashmir, he added that he has yet to choose a name and flag for his party.
"I've not decided upon a name for my party yet. The people of Jammu and Kashmir will decide the name and the flag for the party. I'll give a Hindustani name to my party that everyone can understand," he said.
On 26 August, Azad dropped a "bombshell" by announcing his resignation from Congress on Twitter. In a scathing letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi, the former MP blamed her son Rahul Gandhi for "comprehensively demolishing" Congress.
He said that, despite being the chief of Congress, Sonia was only a figurehead and all the major decisions about the party were taken by Rahul or his personal assistants and security guards.