Congress to steer clear of TV debates for a month, requests news channel to not invite party representatives

New Delhi: Amid political uncertainty within the party following the severe drubbing it received in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress on Thursday barred its spokespersons from representing the party on news channel debates for a month. Taking to Twitter, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala requested all media channels and its editors to not place any Congress representatives on their shows.

.@INCIndia has decided to not send spokespersons on television debates for a month.

All media channels/editors are requested to not place Congress representatives on their shows.

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 30, 2019

This came after Rahul Gandhi, who became the Congress president in 2017, offered to step down from his post at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on 25 May, taking moral responsibility for the party’s dismal performance in the recently concluded 17th general elections. However, the CWC unanimously rejected his offer to resign. So far, several top leaders have met Rahul and urged him to continue to lead the party. Sources said that despite senior members making serious attempts to convince the 48-year-old party chief to rethink his decision, he remains unfazed. These leaders, sources said, maintained that Congress cannot afford to have someone new at the helm to rebuild the organisation at this juncture, and that the responsibility for the defeat is collective and not individual. The Congress won 52 seats in the recent general elections, which is just eight more than 2014, in the outgoing Lok Sabha. The NDA, on the other hand, registered a massive victory, winning 352 seats to retain power. The BJP alone won 303 seats — its highest tally ever.