Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday offered to quit, asking the Congress Working Committee to initiate the process for selecting a new party chief, sources said. In her opening remarks at the meeting, called in the wake of a section of leaders seeking a "full time and visible" Congress president, Sonia Gandhi made the offer to quit saying she had given a detailed reply on the issue to AICC general secretary K C Venugopal. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who spoke after Gandhi, urged her to continue, so did former Defence Minister A K Antony, with both the veterans criticising the letter by some party leaders. Was informed by Rahul Gandhi personally that he never said what was attributed to him . I therefore withdraw my tweet,” the senior Congress leader wrote on Twitter. Sibal, who was one of the 23 top leaders to demand a "full-time, visible leadership", had in his now-deleted tweet, listed his contributions to the party and his track record to hit back at Rahul Gandhi for his bombshell remark. “When Scindia ji raised his voice, he was accused of colluding with BJP. Now when leaders like Gulam Nabi Azad  and Kapil Sibal are demanding full-time party chief, they're also being accused of colluding with BJP. No one can save such a party,” Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said as the tussle over the leadership issue in Congress party intensified. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in a tweet clarified, "What I said was, yesterday some Congress person had said that we did it at behest of BJP in that context I said "It is most unfortunate that some colleagues (outside CWC) have accused us of collusion with BJP, and if those people can prove this allegation, I will resign".Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi has asked her party to begin the process of replacing her as chief even as demands from across party units sought a Gandhi to lead the Grand Old Party. In the Congress Working Committee meeting, Sonia Gandhi offered to step down but was asked to continue by former prime minister and veteran colleague Manmohan Singh. The decision came after some Congress leaders, including ex-ministers, wrote to her demanding "changes to the leadership". The letter by former ministers and some MPs was believed to have been written a few weeks ago.

As the Congress' top decision-making body CWC met virtually to discuss the contentious leadership issue, several party workers gathered at the AICC headquarters today raising slogans, asserting that no one except from the Gandhi family would be acceptable as party chief. The scenes at the party headquarters were indicative of the growing tumult in the Congress with the party deeply divided on the leadership issue. Though the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is taking place virtually, several Congress workers gathered outside the party's 24 Akbar Road office and raised slogans in support of the Gandhi family. Many carried placards like "Gandhi ke alawa adhyaksh manzoor nahi (nobody is acceptable as president except Gandhi)" and "Gandhi pariwar ke alawa koi adhyaksh bana, toh party toot hi jayegi (if anybody outside the Gandhi family becomes chief, the party will break).

Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday offered to quit, asking the Congress Working Committee to initiate the process for selecting a new party chief, sources said. In her opening remarks at the meeting, called in the wake of a section of leaders seeking a "full time and visible" Congress president, Sonia Gandhi made the offer to quit saying she had given a detailed reply on the issue to AICC general secretary K C Venugopal. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who spoke after Gandhi, urged her to continue, so did former Defence Minister A K Antony, with both the veterans criticising the letter by some party leaders. Was informed by Rahul Gandhi personally that he never said what was attributed to him . I therefore withdraw my tweet,” the senior Congress leader wrote on Twitter. Sibal, who was one of the 23 top leaders to demand a "full-time, visible leadership", had in his now-deleted tweet, listed his contributions to the party and his track record to hit back at Rahul Gandhi for his bombshell remark. “When Scindia ji raised his voice, he was accused of colluding with BJP. Now when leaders like Gulam Nabi Azad  and Kapil Sibal are demanding full-time party chief, they're also being accused of colluding with BJP. No one can save such a party,” Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said as the tussle over the leadership issue in Congress party intensified. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in a tweet clarified, "What I said was, yesterday some Congress person had said that we did it at behest of BJP in that context I said "It is most unfortunate that some colleagues (outside CWC) have accused us of collusion with BJP, and if those people can prove this allegation, I will resign".Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi has asked her party to begin the process of replacing her as chief even as demands from across party units sought a Gandhi to lead the Grand Old Party. In the Congress Working Committee meeting, Sonia Gandhi offered to step down but was asked to continue by former prime minister and veteran colleague Manmohan Singh. The decision came after some Congress leaders, including ex-ministers, wrote to her demanding "changes to the leadership". The letter by former ministers and some MPs was believed to have been written a few weeks ago.

As the Congress' top decision-making body CWC met virtually to discuss the contentious leadership issue, several party workers gathered at the AICC headquarters today raising slogans, asserting that no one except from the Gandhi family would be acceptable as party chief. The scenes at the party headquarters were indicative of the growing tumult in the Congress with the party deeply divided on the leadership issue. Though the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is taking place virtually, several Congress workers gathered outside the party's 24 Akbar Road office and raised slogans in support of the Gandhi family. Many carried placards like "Gandhi ke alawa adhyaksh manzoor nahi (nobody is acceptable as president except Gandhi)" and "Gandhi pariwar ke alawa koi adhyaksh bana, toh party toot hi jayegi (if anybody outside the Gandhi family becomes chief, the party will break).