Sonia, Rahul offer to resign for poll debacle; Manmohan Singh takes blame for shortcomings

New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi offered to resign at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday in the wake of the party's worst-ever performance in the Lok Sabha polls. However, Congress party rejected the Gandhis' resignation offer.

CWC passed unanimous resolution expressing full faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. However, communication strategy of party came under severe criticism in the meet.

Party spokesperson Raj Babbar said, “We will fight under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi said CWC authorities have urged Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take whatever steps necessary to revamp the party.

In the meeting, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said, “He takes responsibility for whatever shortcomings existed at the government level.”

This offer to resign in the first meeting of the party's highest decision making body since the poll debacle began following remarks of Ahmed Patel, Political Secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, that "all, including myself, are responsible for the party's loss."

"How can you blame any individual for this result? It is the collective responsibility of both the party and the government. All, including myself, are responsible for the party's loss," Patel has said in the wake of resentment in the party at the way Rahul ran the election campaign.

The meeting is taking place amid a clamour within for a surgical action to revamp the party.

There are questions being raised about Rahul's style of working but doubts are being expressed whether anyone would be bold enough to raise them in the meeting, which will be presided by Sonia.

An exercise has already begun in the party to insulate him from any blame game. Sonia and Rahul appeared before the media on Friday and took personal responsibility for the drubbing that left the party with just 44 seats in a House of 543, a huge climb down from 206 seats it had in the outgoing 15th Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, party leader Manish Tewari said the resignation of the party leadership in the wake of the poll debacle is not the way forward.