Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru 

Bengaluru, Jul 4: A day after Rahul Gandhi resigned as Congress president, Karnataka water resources minister D K Shivakumar said that the Gandhi family plays an integral role in keeping the party and the country united. 

Calling the Gandhi family the backbone that has kept Congress strong and united over the years, he highlighted that many have pinned their hopes on the Gandhi scion to restore the party back to its former glory. 

“Without the Gandhi family, Congress cannot be united. Without Congress being united, the country cannot be united,” Shivakumar told reporters on Thursday when asked to react to Rahul’s resignation. 

Rahul Gandhi, who took the moral responsibility for the party’s failure in the 17th Lok Sabha elections, had announced his decision to step down from his post at the Congress working committee (CWC) meeting on May 25. 

On Wednesday, Gandhi shared his four-page resignation on social media. "The party should decide on the new president quickly without further delay. I am nowhere in this process. I have already submitted my resignation and I am no longer the party president. CWC should convene a meeting at the earliest and decide,” he wrote. 

Meanwhile, Congress party workers all over the country are refusing to accept his resignation and assert he is still the ‘Voice of party’s workers.’ 

"We request him to take back his resignation because we know his struggle," deputy chief minister of Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot, said.