Rahul Gandhi quits as Congress president, urges party to decide on new leader soon 

Arunima Bajaj  Wednesday 3rd of July 2019 05:49 PM
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Rahul Gandhi.

New Delhi: Claiming responsibility for the Lok Sabha election debacle, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, in an open letter to party workers, resigned from his post and said it was an honour to serve the party.

Hours after declaring his resignation as the party chief, Gandhi, in a tweet along with a four-page letter, said, “It is an honour for me to serve the Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation. I owe the country and my organization a debt of tremendous gratitude and love.”

Gandhi, in a conversation with news agency ANI, said, “Party should decide on the new president quickly without further delay, I am nowhere in this process. I have already submitted my resignation and I am no longer the party president. CWC should convene a meeting at the earliest and decide (who to appoint as Congress president).”

He added, “As president of the Congress party, I am responsible for the loss of the 2019 election. Accountability is critical for the future growth of our party. It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress president.”

Gandhi also said that it would be unjust to hold others accountable and “ignore” his own responsibility.

While clarifying his resignation, he added, “My fight has never been a simple battle for political power. I have no hatred or anger towards the BJP, but every living cell in my body instinctively resists their idea of India.”

Taking responsibility for the rout, Rahul Gandhi also criticized party leaders for weakening the Congress campaign by placing their own interests above the party.

Ignores pleas to withdraw resignation

Earlier, top senior leaders of the Congress, including several chief ministers of Congress-ruled states urges Gandhi to continue as the party president. The chief ministers, including Ashok Gehlot from Rajasthan, Captain Amarinder Singh from Punjab, Kamal Nath from Madhya Pradesh, Bhupesh Baghel from Chhattisgarh and V Narayanasamy from Puducherry, met the Congress president, on Monday, to show their solidarity with Gandhi.

They asked Gandhi to freely take decisions while reconstructing the party and they would accept his decision without any resistance. The team of chief ministers argued that Rahul Gandhi alone could not take the whole responsibility for the defeat of the party in the general election.

However, with today’s letter to his party members, Gandhi, who took over the reins of the Congress, on December 16, 2017, after his mother Sonia Gandhi quit the party’s top post, has put an end to all speculations.


 
 

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