Taking a cue from Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Vivek Tankha, the chairman of the AICC’s Legal, Human Rights and RTI Department announced his resignation from the party post with an appeal to party leaders to follow suit.
“We all should submit our resignations from party positions and give Rahul ji a free hand to choose his team. I welcome Kamal Nath ji’s statement to that effect,” Tankha, a Rajya Sabha member who spearheaded the Congress’ vigil against electoral malpractices during the Lok Sabha elections said announcing his resignation late Thursday night.
His resignation came after Rahul expressed unhappiness over the party veterans’ failure to accept responsibility for the Lok Sabha debacle.
On Thursday night, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath had said he had offered to quit as the state Congress president immediately after the Lok Sabha results were declared accepting responsibility for the party’s performance in the state.
“Rahul ji please make drastic changes to revive the party as a fighting force. You have the commitment and determination. Just cobble a good, acceptable and influential nationwide team. I am with you u in all situations,” Tankha said.
During his interaction with Youth Congress leaders on Wednesday, Rahul had expressed his displeasure over other party leaders refusing to accept responsibility for the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. He reiterated similar sentiments during a meeting with leaders from Haryana on Thursday evening.
Rahul had offered to quit as Congress President at the Congress Working Committee meeting on May 25 accepting responsibility for the party’s dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
The resignation was rejected by the CWC which gave him a free hand to restructure the organisation.
However, Congress leaders expected Rahul to abide by the CWC decision and continue in his post. Over the past couple of weeks, Rahul had conveyed to the party leadership that he was firm on this decision and they have to find some alternative.
With the leadership issue unresolved for more than a month after the CWC meeting, a section of the party veterans have called for a quick resolution to the uncertainty.