Amid Crisis in Cong, Veerappa Moily Says Not Even 1% Chance of Rahul Gandhi Continuing as Party Chief

Hyderabad: Congress leader M Veerappa Moily on Friday said there is not even one per cent possibility of Rahul Gandhi continuing as party president.

On Gandhi reiterating that there was no going back on his decision to resign from the post, the veteran leader said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) would decide on the matter.

"Anything can happen," the former Union minister, who held portfolios like Law and Justice, Petroleum and Natural Gas and Corporate Affairs during the Congress-led UPA regime, quipped.

"Today, I don't... (think there) may be even one per cent (possibility) of his (Gandhi's) coming back. CWC will definitely meet before they consider any other name. Unless his resignation is accepted by CWC, speculations and his assertions will go on," he told PTI.

The Congress has been embroiled in a crisis since Gandhi expressed his desire to step down from the post after the drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections. But the Congress Working Committee (CWC), in a meeting on May 25, had turned down his proposal.

While several leaders have called upon Gandhi to continue as party chief, the Wayanad MP has remained firm.

Moily, a former Karnataka chief minister, refused to comment on the appeal of some Congress leaders to Gandhi to let his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra take over the reins.

"I would like to wait for the CWC to take appropriate next step," he said.

Moily had last week said the Congress needs a "major surgery" in the wake of the Lok Sabha poll debacle.

The Congress on Friday also dissolved all its 280 block committees in Delhi after Sheila Dikshit met Gandhi.

Gandhi has held similar review meetings with leaders from Chhattisgarh and Haryana. Gandhi on Friday appointed Mohan Markam head of the party's Chhattisgarh unit, replacing Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

Earlier on Thursday, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha submitted his resignation from the post of the chairperson of the All India Congress Committee's (AICC) legal human rights and RTI department and called upon Gandhi to bring together an "acceptable and influential nationwide team".

(With inputs from PTI)