Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Ghelot and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel at the dharna site. (ANI)Hundreds of party workers staged a protest outside the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road Tuesday urging party chief Rahul Gandhi to take back his resignation. Later in the evening, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel came to the dharna site to express solidarity with the workers and interacted with them.
Earlier in the day, a local party worker went to the extent of attempting suicide by hanging from a tree outside Akbar Road but was eventually stopped by Congress leaders present there.
Hanif Khan, a local leader, claimed he would “commit suicide by hanging from a tree” if Gandhi did not take back his decision to resign as party chief. “Rahul Gandhi should take back his resignation else I will hang myself,” he told the media before making his attempt.
AICC secretaries Mahender Joshi, Naseeb Singh and other leaders, including Delhi working president Rajesh Lilothia, Shobha Oza, Jagdish Tytler also joined the dharna during the day. “We demand that Rahulji should continue as party chief,” PTI quoted Lilothia as saying.
The incident comes in the wake of a spate of resignations by several Congress leaders at different levels.
On Monday, for the first time after the Lok Sabha election defeat, Rahul Gandhi met chief ministers of the five Congress-ruled states who asked him to reconsider his decision to step down as Congress president. However, Rahul did not give any indication on changing his mind.
Rahul is learnt to have told the CMs that he has already conveyed his decision to the Congress Working Committee (CWC). He also asked them to arrive at a consensus on an alternative.
Rahul is said to be upset that none of those state leaders and in charges under whose watch the party fared badly have owned up responsibility and resigned — even after he decided to step down on the principle of accountability.
