Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was on Saturday re-elected as the Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP).

The name of the former Congress president was proposed by the incumbent president Mallikarjun Kharge at the CPP meeting at the Central Hall of Parliament here. Congress leaders Tariq Anwar and Gaurav Gogoi seconded the proposal.

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The meeting unanimously elected Gandhi as the Chairperson of the CPP.

Speaking on the occasion, she said, “Kharge ji and fellow MPs, I am deeply conscious of the great responsibility all of you have placed on me yet again.”

Congratulating all the newly elected party MPs, Gandhi said, “You have fought a tough election under the most challenging of circumstances. You have surmounted many obstacles and campaigned so very effectively. Your success has given us a much greater presence in the Lok Sabha and a more effective voice in its proceedings, both of which will help give greater strength to our participation.”

In a veiled attack on the BJP, she said, “The Indian National Congress has once again demonstrated its resilience. It was up against a mighty and malevolent machine that was doing its utmost to destroy us.”

“Our numbers in Parliament have increased significantly. Not only is the Indian National Congress a large contingent in the Lok Sabha but we are bolstered by the strength of our INDIA partners, some of whom have themselves come back impressively,” Gandhi said.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said, “The Prime Minister who sought the mandate solely in his name to the exclusion of both his party and its allies has suffered a political and moral defeat. In reality, he has lost the mandate he sought and thereby lost the right to leadership as well. Yet, far from taking responsibility for failure he intends to get himself sworn in again tomorrow. We do not expect him to change the substance and style of his governance, nor take cognizance of the will of the people.”

“That is why, as members of the CPP, we have a special obligation to be watchful, vigilant and proactive in holding him and his new NDA Government accountable. No longer can and should Parliament be bulldozed like it has been for a decade now,” Gandhi said.

She assured that she will do her best to fulfill the trust and confidence they have continued to place in her.