Rahul Gandhi resigned as president of the Congress party, citing his responsibility for the party’s loss in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In a lengthy statement posted on Twitter, Gandhi said “hard decisions and numerous people will have to be made accountable for the failure of 2019”, and that it would be “unjust” for him to ignore his own responsibility as party president. He also said it would “not be correct” for him to select the next Congress president, and he trusts the party to “make the best decision regarding who can lead us with courage, love and fidelity”.

Gandhi noted he had “no hatred or anger towards the BJP but every living cell in my body instinctively resists their idea of India”. He said the BJP today is “systematically crushing the voice of the Indian people” and it’s the duty of the Congress to radically transform itself and defend these voices.

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. It is now crystal clear that our once cherished institutional neutrality no longer exists in India. The stated objectives of the RSS, the capture of our country’s institutional structure, is now complete. Our democracy has been fundamentally weakened.” He called on the Indian nation to “reclaim and resuscitate our institutions” and said the “instrument of this resuscitation will be the Congress party”.