Politician Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday attacked Congress' Rahul and Sonia Gandhi saying he had maintained a dignified silence since his departure from the party but their continued attack forced him to retaliate.

Azad said this while holding a rally in his home town in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district.

He said that despite repeated attacks on him by the Gandhis, he maintained a dignified silence for a long time but his single retaliation has now grounded them.

Azad, who is on his maiden political campaign as a non-Congress leader ahead of announcing his own party in Jammu and Kashmir, addressed a rally at a jam packed Bhalla market in Doda's Bhadarwah.

"After my resignation letter, I maintained a dignified silence for four days but when Sonia Gandhi and Rahul kept attacking at me, I was left with no other option but to make my point, as my religion and ethics of politics give you the right to protect yourself, when you are attacked," Azad said.

"They tried to defame me by firing missiles at me but when I retaliated, they got grounded with a single shot of 303 rifle.

"If I had used a ballistic missile, then they would have vanished from the politics forever," he said.

Azad said that he will fight to restore the statehood of Jammu & Kashmir and the rights of its people.

"The first right on the land of Jammu and Kashmir and jobs is that of our people and it's my foremost priority to fight to give my people their right," Azad said.

He added that his party will focus on the restoration of full statehood, and right to land and employment to those with native domicile.

In another rally in Udhampur, Azad said that he will now start on the unfinished work which he could not do as chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir, when some people withdrew support from his (Congress-PDP) government.

He further said had he known about the heart and mind of the people earlier, he would have left the Congress long ago.