In more trouble for the crisis-hit Congress, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, publicly announced his resignation as its president, taking responsibility for the Lok Sabha polls debacle, and called for "hard decisions" to rebuild the party and making people accountable for the "failure" of 2019.
In a four-page open letter, Gandhi also urged the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to entrust a group of people with the task of finding a new president as it would not be proper for him to do so. The 49-year-old leader -- who has been adamant on his decision to quit as party president since May 25, two days after the results in which his party won 52 seats -- also stressed on the need for the Congress to "radically transform itself".
Here are top 10 quotes from Rahul Gandhi's resignation letter:
1. The Indian nation must unite to reclaim and resuscitate our institutions. The instrument of this resuscitation will be the Congress party.
2. Rebuilding the party requires hard decisions and numerous people will have to be made accountable for the failure of 2019. It would be unjust to hold others accountable but ignore my own responsibility as president of the party.
3. It is a habit in India that the powerful cling to power, no one sacrifices power. But we will not defeat our opponents without sacrificing the desire for power and fighting a deeper ideological battle.
4. A free and fair election requires the neutrality of a country's institutions -- an election cannot be fair without arbiters, a free press, an independent judiciary and a transparent Election Commission that is objective and neutral.
5. Nor can an election be free if only one party has a complete monopoly on financial resources.
6. We didn't fight a political party in the election. Rather, we fought the entire machinery of the Indian state, every institution of which was marshalled against the opposition.
7. It is now crystal clear that our once cherished institutional neutrality no longer exists in India.
8. There is a real danger that from now on, elections will go from being a determinant of India's future to a mere ritual.
9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory does not negate the breath of corruption allegations against him, no amount of money and propaganda can ever hide the light of the truth.
10. Today, the BJP is systematically crushing the voice of the Indian people. It is the duty of the Congress party to defend these voices. India has never and will never be one voice.
(Inputs from Agencies)
