After a severe drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee said resignations on moral grounds will not resolve problems faced by the party.
MPCC president Manikrao Thakare said the state unit will have to introspect the reasons of the unprecedented defeat and collectively work to regain the lost support of the people for the upcoming assembly elections.
“The mandate of the Lok Sabha elections is decisively in favour of the main opposition party and its allies all over the country and hence resigning for loses in one or two seats in the state is of no use,” Thakare said referring to the resignations of EGS minister Nitin Raut and Industries Minister Narayan Rane owning moral responsibility for the defeat in Nagpur and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seats respectively.
“I have spoken to Rane over telephone and will hold discussions with him once he returns to Mumbai,” he said.
Raut said Nagpur, the headquarters of the RSS, has always chosen Congress as their preferred party. Diksha Bhoomi in Nagpur has given message of equality and secularism which has been a factor in congress victories.
“In this election for the first time, BJP candidate and has won by a huge margin. Secularism and equality are in danger… The election result in disturbing and undesirable. Owning moral responsibility for the Congress defeat, I tender my resignation,” he said.
Rane owned up responsibility for the defeat of the Congress candidates in the state as well that of his son Nilesh in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.
He has thanked Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for his co-operation and wished him best for the future.
