New Delhi, July 3: Rahul Gandhi, who on Wednesday announced that he was no longer the Congress President, made a veiled attack on party leaders in his farewell letter. In his four-page letter, Rahul Gandhi said he at times stood completely alone in the fight against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological backbone of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"I personally fought the Prime Minister, the RSS and the institutions they have captured with all my being. I fought because I love India. And I fought to defend the ideals India was built upon. At times, I stood completely alone and am extremely proud of it," Gandhi wrote. He also made sharp remarks against power-hungry Congress leaders. He said numerous people will have to be made accountable for the failure of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi Reveals Who Will Decide on Next Congress Chief.

"Rebuilding the party requires hard decisions and numerous people will have to be made accountable for the failure of 2019. It would be unjust to hold others accountable but ignore my own responsibility as President of the party," Gandhi stated. "It is a habit in India that the powerful cling to power, no one sacrifices power. But we will not defeat our opponents without sacrificing the desire for power and fighting a deeper ideological battle," he added.

Rahul Gandhi's resignation letter:

Gandhi said the RSS had succeeded in capturing the country's institutional structure, questioning the role of the Election Commission in the 2019 Lok Sabha battle. "A free and fair election requires the neutrality of a country's institutions -- an election cannot be fair without arbiters, a free press, an independent judiciary and a transparent Election Commission that is objective and neutral. Nor can an election be free if only one party has a complete monopoly on financial resources," he said.

"We didn't fight a political party in the election. Rather, we fought the entire machinery of the Indian state, every institution of which was marshalled against the opposition. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory "does not negate the breath of corruption allegations against him, no amount of money and propaganda can ever hide the light of the truth," the Congress leader added.

Gandhi announced on May 25, two days after the Lok Sabha election results became known, that he would resign as the Congress chief after the party was drubbed. Gandhi was himself defeated in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh but won from Wayanad in Kerala.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 03, 2019 09:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).