The Congress party said on Thursday it will not send its spokesperson for debates on television news channels for one month as it battles a crisis over the decision of its president Rahul Gandhi to quit after a dismal electoral performance.

The party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala made the announcement about the decision on Twitter.

“.@INCIndia has decided to not send spokespersons on television debates for a month. All media channels/editors are requested to not place Congress representatives on their shows,” Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.

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Rahul Gandhihas been adamant about stepping down as the party’s president despite several Congress leaders’ requests to take back his decision. On Wednesday, Congress workers in several cities across the country held demonstrations urging him to rethink his decision to quit following reverses in the Lok Sabha elections.

Party functionaries said on Wednesday the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) will meet at Parliament Annexe on Saturday morning and that it will be presided over by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and attended by all Congress MPs, including Rahul Gandhi.

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Gandhi could interact with party leaders since the fractious Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on May 25 when he announced his decision to quit before it was rejected by the party’s highest decision-making body.

First Published: May 30, 2019 08:53 IST