Rahul Gandhi: I am no longer Congress president

Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday stressed that he is no longer the president of the Congress, adding that the party should decide on a new chief without delay.

"The party should decide on the new president quickly without further delay, I am nowhere in this process. I have already submitted my resignation and I am no longer the party president. CWC should convene a meeting at the earliest and decide," Gandhi told reporters in the parliament.

Rahul Gandhi also took to social networking site Twitter to announce his official resignation.

The Wayanad lawmaker, 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 the Congress' abysmal performance in the Lok Sabha Elections which were held this year.

However, the CWC unanimously rejected his resignation. So far, several top leaders have met Gandhi and urged him to continue to lead the party.

Despite senior members making serious attempts to convince the 49-year-old to rethink his decision, he has remained unfazed. A local party worker on Tuesday created a flutter outside the party headquarters on Akbar Road in Delhi when he tried to climb a tree to attempt suicide in order to stop Rahul Gandhi from resigning. He, however, was stopped by Congress leaders and workers present there.

The Congress won 52 seats in the recent general elections, which is just eight more than what the party won in 2014 polls.

Supporters sat on a strike outside party headquarters on Tuesday, urging Gandhi to rescind his resignation.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates

Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from Agencies