HYDERABAD: Congress leaders in the State are collectively urging AICC president Rahul Gandhi to refrain from stepping down after the poll debacle in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections. After TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy held that he would back the Congress Working Committee’s (CWC) decision in asking Gandhi to reconsider his decision to quit, senior Congress leaders V Hanumantha Rao, Sangareddy MLA Jayaprakash Reddy, and TPCC vice president Mallu Ravi resounded the same.
The leaders said that winning and losing were part of any elections and that one should not get demotivated by defeats. In fact, Hanumantha Rao added that even former prime minister Indira Gandhi had lost during the polls in 1977 but emerged victorious in 1980.
“The government is no one’s property. There is a difference between Rahul’s family and that of others. What will happen to the Congress party workers if Rahul resigns?” asked Hanumantha Rao, while addressing a press conference.
Mallu Ravi said that considering the present situation the party faces, it was important for Rahul Gandhi to continue as the AICC president. Meanwhile, backing the idea of legacy in the Congress party, Jayaprakash Reddy said that without a ‘Gandhi’, the Congress party was nothing.