I have resigned as Cong pres, CWC should quickly decide on successor: Rahul Gandhi

PTI, Jul 3, 2019, 3:45 PM IST

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he is no longer Congress president and the party’s working committee should meet immediately to decide on his successor.

Gandhi told reporters he has already resigned and the Congress Working Committee should make the appointment soon. “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 said when asked about the future course of the party.

Taking moral responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi resigned as Congress president at a CWC meeting on May 25, two days after the results were declared. The party won 52 seats in the Lok Sabha election.

The CWC rejected his resignation and authorised him to initiate changes in the party in order to revamp and restructure it at all levels. 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. However, Gandhi has been firm on his decision to quit as president.