Congress leader Tarun Gogoi says, Rahul Gandhi not ready to withdraw his resignation

Former Assam Chief Minister and Congress leader Tarun Gogoi on Thursday said that party president Rahul Gandhi is sticking to his decision to resign from the post.

"We want Rahul to continue as Congress president. But he is insisting that he will not continue as party president anymore. All members of the working committee are unanimously saying that we will not accept Rahul's resignation. We asked him to withdraw his resignation but he did not do it," Gogoi told ANI.

"In a democracy, a strong opposition is needed. Who will become a strong opposition? There is only one party Congress and Rahul has the capability to lead the party with his pan-India image," he said.

The Congress leader said that Rahul has stated that he will help the next party president.

"Rahul said he will continue till next president is chosen...He said he will fight the ideological battle with BJP and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. He said that he will help the next Congress president," according to Gogoi.

On May 25, Rahul had offered to step down from the post at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, taking moral responsibility for the party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

His resignation was rejected "unanimously" by the CWC members who authorised him to do a complete overhaul and restructuring of the party at every level.

The Congress president, who won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, lost to BJP's Smriti Irani from Amethi parliamentary constituency which was considered a strong hold of the party.

-ANI