40 MPs were enough to take on BJP, this time we are 52: Rahul Gandhi at CPP meet

Rahul, who contested from two Lok Sabha constituencies this election, won from Wayanad but lost his traditional Amethi seat to BJP's Smriti Irani.

PTI photo

NEW DELHI: Week after offering his resignation, Congress president Rahul Gandhi was back on the podium trying to inspire his party to be formidable opposition in the Lok Sabha.

“I realized quickly that 40 were enough to take on BJP. This time we are 52 MPs, will fight BJP every single day,” said Rahul at the first Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) meeting of the newly-elected party lawmakers in the national capital on Saturday.

Gandhi, who contested from two Lok Sabha constituencies this election, won from Wayanad but lost his traditional Amethi seat to BJP's Smriti Irani.

“You are fighting for the right of every single member of the country,” he said, adding, “May be we will not get enough time in the house but even those two minutes would be ok to put down BJP.”

Saturday's meet saw Sonia Gandhi being elected as the CPP leader once again. Speaking on the occasion, she said that it is an opportunity for the party to introspect and rejuvenate. The United Progressive Alliance chairperson and former Congress chief won UP's Rae Bareli constituency by defeating the BJP`s Dinesh Pratap Singh by over 1.67 lakh votes. 

Congratulating his mother, Rahul wrote on Twitter, “Congratulations to Smt Sonia Gandhi on being elected Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. Under her leadership, the Congress will prove to be a strong & effective opposition party, that will fight to defend the Constitution of India.”

Congratulations to Smt Sonia Gandhi on being elected Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. Under her leadership, the Congress will prove to be a strong & effective opposition party, that will fight to defend the Constitution of India. pic.twitter.com/iUcdB51tHE — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 1, 2019

Apart from Sonia and Rahul, the CPP meeting was attended by 50 other Lok Sabha MPs and Congress Rajya Sabha MPs. The meeting was held in the central hall of Parliament.

"Smt. Sonia Gandhi elected as the leader of Congress Parliamentary Party! She says, ‘we thank the 12.13 Cr voters for reposing faith in the Congress Party’," tweeted Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Shri Rahul Gandhi thanked the voters & Congress workers.

He says, ‘every Congress member must remember that each one of you is fighting for the Constitution, for every person in India irrespective of the color of his skin or belief’. pic.twitter.com/yMtE6IWUXo — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) June 1, 2019

As per reports, the lawmakers also brainstormed on the party's strategy for the upcoming session in Parliament. Congress received a massive drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, winning just 52 seats. The party failed to win a single seat in several states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi etc. Taking moral responsibility of the defeat, Rahul decided to quit as the party chief during the Congress Working Committee meeting last Saturday (May 25).