NEW DELHI: Amid resignations from minor figures and a snowballing controversy, the Youth Congress on Saturday denied “fake news” about party president Rahul Gandhi complaining about a lack of quit notices from party functionaries despite him having owned up to the Lok Sabha debacle.

After reports circulated that Rahul Gandhi had complained about resignations not coming in to a Youth Congress delegation on June 26, there were sporadic reactions even as no senior leader quit even though some said they were responsible for poll losses in their areas of influence and responsibility.

In a belated rejoinder, Youth Congress spokesman Amrish Pandey said, “IYC condemns the fake news about Rahul Gandhiji expressing concern to our leaders about nobody from the party taking responsibility for the below-par performance in the Lok Sabha elections.”

The rejoinder came in the wake of embarrassment caused by a flurry of resignations from junior office-bearers even as senior leaders have stayed put.

The IYC team, led by chief Keshav Chand Yadav, had met Rahul Gandhi after holding a protest outside his residence against his decision to resign as Congress chief. The talk about Rahul’s purported anger started with the IYC meeting. Later, he was said to have made a similar remark during a meeting with Haryana leaders on Thursday.

In the wake of these reports, resignations from Congress leaders have begun to trickle in, including one AICC general secretary, five secretaries and a couple of department chiefs, and some office-bearers in state units.

On Saturday, MP Congress working presidents Ram Niwas Rawat and Surendra Chaudhary resigned over the party’s poor show in the state. While 35 office-bearers from UP Congress put in their papers demanding that Rahul continue as AICC chief, Telangana Congress working president Revanth Reddy and former AICC secretary V Hanumanth Rao resigned as state office-bearers.

Meanwhile, a group of young leaders have begun holding meetings at the AICC headquarters, increasing the pressure on office-bearers to quit.

However, none of the senior leaders who met Gandhi in recent days have put in their papers, suggesting there is no such nudge or expectation from the top. And they include members close to the Gandhi family.

Asked why leaders were not resigning, AICC spokesman Pawan Khera said: “People have different ways of expressing their request” that Gandhi should remain the Congress chief.

To insiders, the events have begun to look like a drama. Social media was abuzz with impending resignations of the Himachal Pradesh unit chief, veteran Sushilkumar Shinde and, crucially, of a chief minister.

Senior Congressmen believe these developments are damaging the already-battered organisation by diverting the post-defeat debate within to inconsequential issues.

