Rahul Gandhi Unmoved by CWC's Rejection of His Resignation, Wants to Quit as Congress President at Earliest: Report
Emotions ran high during the CWC meeting, claimed reports, with several Congress veterans asking Gandhi to continue in such 'challenging times'.
New Delhi, May 27: Congress president Rahul Gandhi is firm on quitting his charge despite the party's highest decision-making body rejecting his resignation. Reports citing close aides of the Gandhi scion said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has been conveyed to find a replacement for the president's post at the earliest.
When the CWC had convened on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi squarely took the blame for the party's disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha polls. He asked the 52-member committee to reset the party and find a chief from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family. Congress in MP, Rajasthan See Cracks Post Lok Sabha Polls Debacle, Fingers Raised at Kamal Nath And Ashok Gehlot
Emotions ran high during the meeting, claimed reports, with several Congress veterans asking Gandhi to continue in such "challenging times". P Chidambaram, who was reportedly disappointed by the Congress chief's decision, said party workers in the South will take an "extreme step" if he moves out.
To this, Gandhi retorted saying that he would "not vanish away", but continue to work actively as other Congress workers. The leadership, he added, should be passed on to another suitable candidate whom the CWC finalises.
On Gandhi's insistence, senior party leaders pitched the name of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Sources claim that Rahul Gandhi was irked by the idea and said his sister "should not be dragged" into this. He further reiterated that the new leader should be from outside his family.
According to a PTI report, Gandhi minced no words in hitting out at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Kamal Nath and senior AICC official P Chidambaram, who "pushed" for their son's candidatures and allegedly concentrated more on their wins.
CWC Denies Media Reports:
In a statement issued by the Congress, the CWC has been quoted as denying the speculative reports in the media.
"Congress party expects everyone including media to respect the sanctity of a closed door meeting of the CWC. Various conjectures, speculations, insinuations, assumptions, gossip and rumour mongering in a section of the media is uncalled for and unwarranted," it said.
"CWC held a collective deliberation on the performance of the party, the challenges before it as also the way ahead, instead of casting aspersions on the role or conduct of any specific individual," the statement further added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 27, 2019 03:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).