Amid Spate of Resignations, Congress Leader Says Party Wants Rahul Gandhi to Continue as President

New Delhi: Amid a spate of resignations by Congress office-bearers, the party on Saturday said that the entire organisation, in one voice, wants its president Rahul Gandhi to continue in the post.

At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said many party leaders have resigned, but the prevailing sentiment is that Gandhi should continue as the party president.

He parried queries about why several senior party leaders had not quit their position, insisting that "people have different ways of expressing their request" which is that, he added, Gandhi should remain the Congress chief.

Khera noted that the Congress Working Committee, the party's apex body, had also passed a resolution, urging Gandhi to remain at the helm.

Several office-bearers of the Congress, including its general secretary incharge of Madhya Pradesh Dipak Babaria and Goa unit chief Girish Chodankar, had resigned on Friday, after MP Vivek Tankha quit as the chairman of the party's legal and human rights cell and urged others to follow suit to give a free hand to Rahul Gandhi to restructure the party at all levels.

Kisan Congress President Nana Patole on Saturday stepped down from his party post.

Later in the day, Uttar Pradesh Congress's senior vice-president Ranjit Singh Judev, general secretary Aradhna Mishra Mona, vice-president RP Tripathi and 10 other leaders resigned from their posts, taking moral responsibility for the election defeat.

The flurry of resignations has put the party in a crisis, with Congress president Rahul Gandhi adamant on his decision to step down from the post. But the Congress Working Committee (CWC), in a meeting on May 25, turned down his proposal. While several leaders have called upon Gandhi to continue as party chief, the Wayanad MP has remained firm.

Gandhi on Thursday said he took the decision to ensure accountability for the party’s Lok Sabha poll debacle and there was no question of going back on it. “I have resigned after taking full responsibility and ensuring accountability for the party's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. I cannot ask others to resign too. It is up to them if they want to take responsibility," he had said.

(With inputs from PTI)