Rahul Gandhi resigns as leader of India's opposition Congress

Takes responsibility for the party's second-straight landslide defeat to right-wing Hindu nationalist BJP

NEW DELHI: India's Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday resigned as president of the main opposition Congress, taking responsibility for the party's second-straight landslide defeat to right-wing Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi in national elections.

It is an honour for me to serve the Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation.

I owe the country and my organisation a debt of tremendous gratitude and love.

Jai Hind 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/WWGYt5YG4V

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 3, 2019

"Accountability is critical for the future growth of our party. It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress president," he said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account.



Gandhi, who was seeking to become the fourth member of his family dynasty to become prime minister, had been Congress president since December 2017