The Congress, which has chosen to maintain focus on its rally against price rise and Bharat Jodo Yatra amid Ghulam Nabi Azad’s vicious attacks against the Nehru-Gandhi family, has alleged that the renegade was “tasked” to run a slander campaign to discredit the leadership at this critical juncture.

Azad gave interviews to many TV news channels, attacking Rahul Gandhi’s crass behaviour and praising Narendra Modi’s “humanity”. He dismissed the Congress as an apolitical outfit packed with “novices and clerks”, finally shedding his pretensions of struggling to reform the organisation.

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh responded saying: “After such a long career, courtesy entirely the party, he has been tasked to slander, by giving interviews indiscriminately. Mr Azad diminishes himself further. What’s he afraid of that he is justifying his treachery every minute? He can be easily exposed but why stoop to his level?”

Azad said in one interview that Rahul’s pet slogan in 2019 — chowkidar chor hai — wasn’t approved by most senior leaders who didn’t believe in making personal attacks. He, however, hailed Modi, not known to shy from personal attacks, for showing “humanity” as he was deeply concerned about the well-being of Gujarati pilgrims attacked in Kashmir. He didn’t refer to the heinous Gujarat riots of 2002 when Modi was asked by the then BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to observe “rajdharma” amid allegations of lack of empathy and support to riot victims.

In another interview, Azad said: “Around 90 per cent of the Congress is not Congressi. Some are picked up from colleges, some clerks of the CM have been given positions. I wrote a letter as the Leader of Opposition to Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi even before the G-23. What did they do? They told me to coordinate with K.C. Venugopal. I told them he was in school when I was the general secretary. Then someone from the family said, speak to Randeep Surjewala. I told them, by the way, when I was the general secretary, Randeep’s father was part of the PCC. He worked under me. How can I discuss the party with his son?”

One senior leader told The Telegraph: “I was a minister with Azad in Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. He should tell us which minister was less competent than him if the Congress is a party of clerks and greenhorns. He admits that he refused to engage with office-bearers because of their age. Does he remember how many veterans worked under him when Rajiv Gandhi made him general secretary out of turn and involved him in all decision-making processes? Why didn’t Azad tell Rahul that he won’t accept his leadership because he was so much younger?”

Many Congress leaders pointed out that Azad was careful not to talk about the real problems the country was grappling with.

The Youth Congress posted one of his old speeches in which he talked about attacks on freedom, suppression of criticism and manipulation of election process. He had said: “If anybody will speak against Modi, he will be dumped in jail. Any businessman supporting the Opposition will be hounded by central agencies.”

The Congress held 22 press conferences across the country on Monday but the focus was strictly kept on price rise in the context of the upcoming rally at Ramlila grounds on September 4. Congress office-bearers, state leaders and coordinators of Bharat Jodo Yatra also met in Delhi on Monday but avoided discussing Azad’s malicious campaign.

It was decided that the inaugural function of Bharat Jodo Yatra at Kanyakumari would be streamed live in every Assembly constituency where people could watch it after an all-religion prayer.

On September 8, there will be a 10km walk in every Assembly constituency of the country. Digvijaya Singh, the yatra’s primary coordinator, said: “Every state, where the Bharat Jodo Yatra is not passing through, will hold separate rallies between October and January to take the message on economic slide and religious polarisation to every household. Soil and water will be brought from every state to the main yatra for tree plantation on the route. This is going to be the biggest ever mass-contact programme.”

The party also indicated that Rahul would be present in every state, taking part in the march. In between, he will address rallies in election-bound states such as Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Rahul’s first rally in Gujarat will be held before the start of yatra on September 5.