Ghulam Nabi Azad recounted fond memories of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who aspires to a Congress-free India, on Wednesday received praise and respect from unexpected quarters. Former Congressman Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has formed his own Democratic Progressive Azad Party, told NDTV that he received little generosity from the Congress for his years of dedicated service. PM Modi, in contrast, was more generous to him, he said, and predicted that the Congress "won't come to power for decades".
"I haven't attended any of his (PM Modi's) dinner parties, which was unbecoming on my part but he ignored it. In seven years as the Leader of the Opposition I have given 70 years' worth of speech against them. But he has ignored it and behaved as a statesman... There are occasions in life when one has to behave like a statesman," he added.
He also recounted fond memories of Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- former Prime Minister and one of the tallest leaders of the BJP.
Vajpayee, Mr Azad said, "remembered the positive and there's a statesman", recalling an anecdote when he had praised Sanjay Gandhi for his last speech.
"When he (Sanjay Gandhi) was to speak in the budget speech he spoke for 15 minutes and all against Vajpayee. But Vajpayee said I am not going to say a single word against Sanjay Gandhi. He (Vajpayee) told Mrs (Indira) Gandhi, 'You are the Prime Minister because of Sanjay Gandhi and your colleagues. Sanjay Gandhi got her power, which is why she is the leader. So, I am not going to say anything against him," Mr Azad said.
The Congress has hit back at Mr Azad. "Both Ghulam Nabi Azad & Jyotiraditya Scindia have been HUGE beneficiaries of the Congress system & its leadership. With every passing day, they give powerful evidence that this generosity to them was undeserved. They reveal their true character which they kept hidden for so long," read a tweet from Jairam Ramesh, the party's communications in-charge.
Mr Azad, one of the leaders of G-23 -- the band of 23 in-house critics of the Congress -- had quit amid much bitterness last year. In his five-page resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, he had castigated Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of "childish behaviour", "glaring immaturity" and for letting a "coterie of inexperienced sycophants" run the party.
On Wednesday, he told NDTV that G-25 was treated as "Modi-ites" by Rahul Gandhi. At the meeting with Sonia Gandhi after the letter was sent, "Rahul Gandhi said these 25 people have written a letter which is written by Modi," he alleged.
Asked about allegations that his party is the "B Team of the BJP", Mr Azad sidestepped the issue. "There are two big political parties (in Jammu and Kashmir) -- one is the National Conference and the other is the People's Democratic Party. I don't have an alliance with anyone," he said.