Honoured to serve Cong, says Rahul, asks CWC to find new chief quickly

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (July 3) reiterated his decision to quit as the Congress’s president and asked the party’s central working committee to choose his successor immediately. But even after his assertion, Congressmen continued to hail him as their leader.

“I am no longer the Congress president. I have already resigned. The CWC should convene a meeting immediately and decide on the new Congress president,” he told reporters outside Parliament when asked about the future course of the party.

The CWC had authorised Gandhi to ‘reconstitute’ or ‘replace’ anyone he deemed fit, but he does not seem to be in the mood to go back on his word.

According to sources, he has said that he will not involve himself in the selection process to find the new Congress president. Some reports said senior leader Motilal Vora might be named the interim president of the party, but Vora told ANI that he had “no information on this”.

In a letter he posted on Twitter, Gandhi said, “It is honour for me to serve Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation. I was born a Congressman, this party has always been with me and is my life’s blood and forever that way it shall remain.”

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 organisation a debt of tremendous gratitude and love.

Jai Hind ?? pic.twitter.com/WWGYt5YG4V

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 3, 2019

“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 would be unjust to hold others accountable but ignore my own responsibility as president of the party. It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress president,” he said in the letter.

The Congress leader said after resigning, he had suggested to his colleagues to entrust a group with the task of searching a new president for the party. “I have empowered them to do so and committed my full support to this process and a smooth transition.”

In spite of his resignation as Congress president, he asserted that he is “not stepping back from the fight” against the attack by the BJP and RSS “that is designed to destroy the fabric of our nation”.

Gandhi has also changed his bio on his Twitter account, removing his designation as Congress president. It reads, “This is the official account of Rahul Gandhi | Member of the Indian National Congress| Member of Parliament.”

Also read: Rahul’s withdrawal into shell can be fatal for self, party

Gandhi had resigned as the party’s president after the poll results gave Congress a thumping defeat, at just 52 seats. BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, bagged 303 seats in the Lok Sabha and came back with a full majority. Gandhi had then lashed out at certain senior leaders for putting their sons above the party.

Recently, Congress chief ministers Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and V Narayanasamy (Puducherry) met Gandhi at his residence in New Delhi and expressed hope that he will review his decision.

Reacting to his decision, Congress leaders said even though Rahul Gandhi had resigned as the party president, he continued to be their leader and would always be the “voice of the party’s workers”.

“We request him to take back his resignation because we know his struggle,” Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot said.

“It is very sad to see him quit as he put in enormous effort and at one point, we felt he caught the pulse and we saw a return of the Congress. Even though he has quit as the Congress president, he continues to be our leader. Reluctantly we have to accept it. If he has announced it, his advice sadly has to be followed. We will put our heads together and do our best,” former Union minister and senior party leader Salman Khurshid said.

Former Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said even after his resignation, Gandhi would remain the voice of the party’s workers.

We are proud to have @RahulGandhi ji as our leader!

Congress President or not, he would always be the voice of millions of congress workers and those who believe in its ideology!

Rahul ji has taken a right decision-and we support him.

— Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) 3 July 2019

“We are proud to have @RahulGandhi ji as our leader! Congress President or not, he would always be the voice of millions of Congress workers and those who believe in its ideology! Rahul ji has taken a right decision-and we support him,” he said in a tweet.

(With agency inputs)