Will request Rahul to continue as Cong chief: Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Wednesday he would request Rahul Gandhi to continue as Congress president during his visit to New Delhi to attend Narendra Modi’s swearing-in as prime minister.

Kumaraswamy joins the bandwagon of other leaders, including M K Stalin (DMK) and Lalu Prasad (RJD), who have urged Gandhi to not quit.

“I will request him (Rahul) to continue. Tomorrow I will be meeting him,” Kumaraswamy told reporters when asked about Gandhi’s decision to resign as Congress president after the Lok Sabha poll washout.

According to the chief minister’s schedule for Thursday, Kumaraswamy will participate in the swearing-in ceremony of the prime minister and the council of ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7 pm. However, his return has been kept open.

The ongoing political developments in the state after the ruling Congress-JDS rout in the Lok Sabha polls and efforts to save the government are likely to figure during the talks with Gandhi.

The state Congress unit, too, has urged Gandhi to lead the party.

“I urge Sri @RahulGandhi to withdraw your offer to resign. You lead (sic) from the front, fought a clean battle, spoke about peoples issues and highlighted the failures of the Modi govt,” state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao tweeted. “We may have lost but we believe in your leadership. India needs you.