Will miss everybody in Parliament, says Ghulam Nabi Azad

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who will soon retire as Rajya Sabha Member, on Tuesday said that he would miss everybody in the Parliament.

"I will miss everybody, right from the gatekeeper of the Parliament to those inside the chamber, the chairman, the secretariat, and all members of the Parliament," Azad said while speaking to .

The Congress leader was elected to Rajya Sabha for five terms and twice to Lok Sabha. His Rajya Sabha term is expiring on February 16.

"Ever since I join active politics in 1975 when I became state president of youth Congress, I had never been able to spend my time with the family," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.

Asking about the emotional speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha, Azad said that when people work somewhere for long period, it is natural to get emotional.

"When we both were general secretaries, we had many debates during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's time. But ultimately, we all are human beings, it is obvious to get emotional despite we follow different ideologies," he said.

Meanwhile, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar also remembered the Congress MP and said a man from Kashmir worked for the development of Washim.

"Gulam Nabi Azad ji regained the trust of the people of Washim and always paid attention to the development of the city. He paid attention to how the problem of irrigation, farming and education can be solved. The people of Washim will never forget that a man from Kashmir worked for the development of the city," Pawar said (in a roughly translated tweet).

Azad contested the Washim Lok Sabha seat from Maharashtra's Washim in 1980.

Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha witnessed emotional scenes as PM Modi recalled the contribution of Ghulam Nabi Azad to the country, the House, and also his party.

An emotional PM Modi bid adieu to Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and recalled his long association with the senior leader.

Lauding the senior Congress leader's contribution to the causes dear to him, the Prime Minister said, "The person who will replace Ghulam Nabi ji (as Leader of Opposition) will have difficulty matching his work because he was not only concerned about his party but also about the country and the House."

Almost teary-eyed, the Prime Minister recalled an incident where Azad's personal intervention led to the return of survivors and corpses of Gujarat residents who had faced a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

( With inputs from ANI )