Rahul to stay on only if 'non performing veterans' quit

New Delhi: The first session of Parliament is all set to begin on Monday and the Congress has not yet 'selected' its leader of the party in the Lok Sabha as Congress president Rahul Gandhi is still adamant on his decision to quit the top post.

The reason behind Rahul Gandhi sticking to his move (quitting the party's top post), as per sources, is 'non-performing' old guards who are holding key positions in the party. "The Congress president has set a goal for himself to revive the party and for that, the party chief has demanded 'removal' of some party's veterans from the organisation," the sources in the party said, adding that Gandhi wants to replace the old veterans with fresh blood.

"There are several party veterans who have become so deeply entrenched in the party that they refuse to step down. But, for the flagging morale of party workers to be restored some tough decisions need to be taken," a party insider told Millennium Post.

As per party sources, senior leaders who may face the sulking Congress chief's wrath include Harish Rawat, Ghulam Nabi Azad, PL Punia, Digvijay Singh and many others. It's worth mentioning that despite being the largest party in Goa, Congress didn't form the government. Similarly, Congress had performed well in assembly elections of Manipur and Meghalaya but failed to form the government.

The recent incident of the defection of 12 Congress MLAs in Telangana to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has not gone down well with Rahul Gandhi as it has raised serious questions on the Congress leadership.

After the party's drubbing at the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress president had also accused senior leaders - P Chidambaram, Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot - of placing their sons above the party.