Ending weeks of speculation and owning up responsibility for the disastrous Congress performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday resigned as party president without naming a successor, and let the rank and file know that “at times, I stood completely alone” while taking on “the Prime Minister, the RSS and the institutions they have captured”.
In a four-page statement which he uploaded on Twitter, Rahul, who took charge of the Congress in December 2017, called for accountability in the party: “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.”
Although he had made it known at the Congress Working Committee meeting on May 25 that he would no longer lead the party, his resignation on Wednesday without naming a successor added to the turmoil in the party as he underlined that “rebuilding the party requires hard decisions and numerous people will have to be made accountable for the failure of 2019”.
At the CWC meeting, Rahul had said that most senior leaders of the party did not support his “chowkidar chor hai” campaign against the Prime Minister oven the Rafale fighter aircraft issue.
“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.
He said he will continue to fight for the ideals of the Congress. “I am available to the party whenever they require my services, input or advice… 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.” He was scathing in his criticism of the BJP and the RSS.