New Delhi: The Congress has decided that it will not participate in television debates for a month. This decision has come up just after days after Rahul Gandhi's refusal to continue as its chief. 

Party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet on Thursday, that the party decided not to send its spokespersons to television debates for a month. He added that all the media channels and editors are requested to not place Congress representatives on their television shows.

It is alleged that the new decision was taken as the complete confusion prevailing in the party about the leadership. and it is also reported that AICC feels it is better to keep its spokespersons out of the television programmes as most of them are not in the Congress decision making mechanisms.

Congress leaders say the gag is meant to give the party time to sort out its mess and understand what went wrong, away from constant media speculation. Also, the party doesn't want to be seen criticizing the BJP or Narendra Modi in debates, say sources.

The Congress was washed out in 18 states and union territories and couldn't win even in the states it won in December which are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. On the other hand, the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi won 303 seats to win an incredible back-to-back majority, a feat previously achieved only by Congress icons like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi's defeat in his traditional Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where he had effortlessly won since 2004, when he debuted in politics.

According to political analysts, if Congress president had not contested from Kerala's Wayanad and won, he would not have been in parliament. Rahul Gandhi won by overall 4 lakh votes in Wayanad, Kerala. 

The party, with 52 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, does not even qualify for the post of Leader of Opposition, for which 55 seats is the requirement.