New Delhi, (4/7/2019): More than a month after declaring his intention, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday formally resigned as Congress president, saying he is responsible for the loss in the Lok Sabha election and accountability is critical for the party’s future growth. In a four-page open letter, Gandhi urged the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to entrust a group of people with the task of finding a new president as it would not be proper for him to do so.
Rahul Gandhi, who has been adamant on his decision to quit as party president since May 25, two days after the results in which his party won only 52 seats also stressed on the need for the Congress to “radically transform itself”.
In his letter he said,
“It had been a honour to serve the Congress, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of “this beautiful nation. 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”.
“Rebuilding the party requires hard decisions and numerous people will have to be made accountable for the failure of 2019. It would be unjust to hold others accountable but ignore my own responsibility as President of the party,”
Gandhi, the most visible face of his party’s election campaign, noted that he personally fought Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and the institutions they have captured with all his being. “I fought because I love India. At times I stood completely alone and am extremely proud of it. The stated objectives of the RSS, the capture of our country’s institutional structure, is now complete. Our democracy has been fundamentally weakened”.
While alleging that the PM’s win does not negate the “breadth of corruption allegations against him”. The Indian nation must unite to reclaim and resuscitate its institution. And the instrument of this resuscitation, will be the Congress. To achieve this important task, the Congress Party must radically transform itself”.
“Immediately after resigning, I suggested to my colleagues in the Congress Working Committee that the way forward would be to entrust a group of people with the task of beginning the search for a new President. I have empowered them to do so and committed my full support to this process and a smooth transition,” he said.
Congress leaders at various levels have been appealing to Gandhi to take back his resignation but he has been unrelenting. Some party workers are sitting on a ‘dharna’ outside the Congress headquarters, asking him to continue as president.
There have also been several resignations of middle-rung leaders. And two days ago, the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states met Gandhi in an effort to make him change his mind.
