Rahul Gandhi resigns as leader of India's opposition Congress

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Rahul Gandhi resigns as leader of India's opposition Congress

New Delhi (Agencies): India's Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday resigned as president of the main opposition Congress, saying he owed "the country and my organisation a debt of tremendous gratitude and love".

“It is an honour for me to serve the Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation,” he said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account.

"Accountability is critical for the future growth of our party. It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress president," he added.

"I was born a Congressman, this party has always been with me and is my life's blood and forever that way it shall remain," said Gandhi at the end of a four-page letter shared on Twitter.

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

His party could win only 52 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, pulverized by the PM Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party's massive victory.