On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi slammed the lid on all speculations about withdrawal of his resignation from the post of Congress President, by issuing a "farewell note" in which he said the party "needs a radical transformation" to fight BJP.
He also changed his Twitter bio and removed mention of him being the Congress President. He described himself as a member of the party and a Member of Parliament. "It would be unjust to hold others accountable, but ignore my own responsibility as President of the party", wrote Rahul while mentioning the LS poll debacle.
"Many of my colleagues suggested that I nominate the next Congress president. While it is important for someone to lead our party, it would not be correct for me to select that person", wrote the outgoing president.
The four-page farewell note by Rahul Gandhi took a sharp dig at some of his senior colleagues. "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." Rahul also wrote that he had already suggested that "a group of people be entrusted with the task of searching for a new president."
In his farewell note, Rahul Gandhi first took full responsibility for the poll debacle, and in the second page, he blamed the entire system for his defeat.
He wrote, "we didn't fight a political party in the 2019 election. Rather we fought the entire machinery of the Indian state, every institution of which was marshalled against the opposition...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."
I strongly object to this remark by Rahul Gandhi. He has no right to castigate the media, the judiciary and the Election Commission to hide his own ineptitude. All these three pillars of democracy did their work in a fair manner, and if the voters of India are unwilling to vote for his party, he should not blame the institutions.
By blaming the entire machinery, Rahul Gandhi has overlooked the state governments in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Karnataka, where the Congress is in power. It was his party that won the assembly elections in these states by dislodging and BJP and its allies from power.
By saying that the "farmers, unemployed youngsters, women, tribals, Dalits and minorities are going to suffer the most" (because of Modi's victory), Rahul Gandhi has insulted the voters of India. He has insulted India's vibrant democracry.
Rahul must understand and admit that the farmers, youth, women, tribals, Dalits and minorities, after assessing the five-year rule of Narendra Modi made him victorious by a thumping majority, and as the leader of the oldest political party, he should humbly accept the people's mandate. Instead of doing this, Rahul is blaming the media, the judiciary and the Election Commission for his party's humiliating defeat.
The hard fact is that Rahul's party lost not because of Modi, or the BJP or some scheming Congress leaders, but because of his own arrogance and the people of India has clearly rejected his leadership. The Congress party lost because of his ineptitude and stubbornness.
Rahul Gandhi should remember that millions of Congressmen toiled hard during the elections, and 10 crore voters voted for his party. By shifting the blame on his own party leaders, Rahul has insulted his own partymen.
Moreover, if Rahul Gandhi thinks that his party lost because of the institutions, then where was the necessity for him to resign? There is a clear contradiction in his views and it is better that he should realize this.
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