New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday tendered his resignation and left it upon the senior party leaders to elect a new chief.
Gandhi's resignation letter that he posted on his Twitter handle read, "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."
"Many of colleagues suggested that I nominate the next Congress president...It would not be correct for me to select a person...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 to search for a new president, " the letter read further.
The Wayanad lawmaker also changed his designation on Twitter from Congress party president to Member of the Indian National Congress.
In his letter, Gandhi reiterated his stand on fighting for the idea of India, "My fight has never been a simple battle for political power. I have no hatred towards the BJP but every living cell in my body instinctively resists their idea of India."
"This resistance arises because my being is permeated with an Indian idea that is and always has been in direct conflict with theirs. This is not a new battle; it has been waged on our soil for thousands of years...Where they see hatred, I see love, " read his letter.
Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janta Party and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Gandhi said, "I personally fought the Prime Minister, the RSS and the institutions they have captured with all my being. I fought because I love India."
Hinting at unfair electoral practices by the public institutions at the behest of the ruling dispensation, Gandhi said, "We didn't fight a political party in the 2019 election. Rather, we fought the entire machinery of the Indian state, every institution of which was marshalled against the opposition. It is now clear that our once cherished institutional neutrality no longer exists in India."
"The stated objectives of the RSS, the capture of our country's institutional structure, is now complete, " the letter read further.
He also pitched Congress as the instrument to "resuscitate our institutions" and called for a transformation in the Congress party.
"The Indian nation must unite to reclaim and resuscitate our institutions. The instrument of this resuscitation will be the Congress party. To achieve this important task, the Congress party must radically transform itself, " said Gandhi.
He concluded by thanking the people who had expressed their support to the Congress leader and assured that he would continue "to fight for the ideals of the Congress party with all my strength".
Gandhi, who became the Congress president in 2017, offered to step down from his post at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on May 25, taking moral responsibility for Congress' abysmal performance in the 17th Lok Sabha Elections.
His resignation was, however, unanimously rejected by the CWC. So far, several top leaders have met Gandhi and urged him to continue to lead the party.
Also read: MPs from Congress, SP give zero notices in Rajya Sabha
Despite senior members making serious attempts to convince the 49-year-old to rethink his decision, he has remained unfazed.
The Congress won 52 seats in the recent general elections, which is just eight more than what the party won in 2014 polls.
