Rahul says party, not him, will decide on new chief

As speculation continues on his next steps, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said his party will decide on who his successor will be and not him.

He is not the person to take a decision on his successor, Gandhi told reporters when asked who will succeed him as Congress president.

Gandhi is adamant on stepping down as party president following the debacle in the elections, but the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision making body of the Congress, has rejected his offer to resign and asked him to restructure the party at all levels.

The Congress chief also maintained that there was "theft" in the Rafale fighter jet deal.

Gandhi was responding to a question about Rafale finding a mention in President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.

"I maintain my stand that there has been theft in the Rafale jet deal," he told reporters outside Parliament.

He has been maintaining that there has been corruption in the Rafale deal and that there should be a thorough probe into the deal

The Congress has already petitioned the CVC for a probe into alleged corruption in the fighter jet deal.

The government has denied any corruption, wrongdoing or favouritism in the deal.