Ill-timed?: Rahul’s Italy visit raises eyebrows as parties gear up for polls

The timing of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s departure to Italy, the place his maternal grandmother lives, simply when the elections to state assemblies are not far away, has drawn flak from a number of quarters.

It’s being speculated that the rally in Punjab’s Moga, which Rahul was slated to attend on January three, could also be postponed as he could not return in time.

For the Congress, which has been grappling with embarrassing ballot routs and desertion of leaders, the absentia of a distinguished chief throughout election campaigning in a state the place it stands a good likelihood to be again in energy, is regarding. Rahul’s absence can be feared to additional dent the picture of the social gathering, which is already making an attempt to iron out the infighting subject inside leaders in Punjab.

To not point out how his radio silence from the marketing campaign path is a stark distinction to the bustle of political events in ballot certain states, notably the vigorous canvassing carried out by the BJP and the Samajwadi Celebration in Uttar Pradesh.

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The polls to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur are anticipated to be introduced by January 2022.

The Congress, nevertheless, has defended its chief by stating that he’s on a brief journey and shall be again in time to attend the Moga rally.

“Rahul Gandhi is on a short private go to. BJP and its associates within the media shouldn’t unfold pointless rumors,” social gathering spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala mentioned.

This, nevertheless, shouldn’t be the primary time the Gandhi scion was absent in motion when his social gathering wanted his providers.

Rahul left for a brief journey to London days earlier than the Winter Session this 12 months simply to be again a day forward of the Parliament session. He reportedly has spent 25 days overseas this 12 months in the middle of 4 such journeys, drawing criticism not solely from BJP, but in addition from social gathering insiders.

In 2019 Rahul stepped down from the publish of the Congress president following the social gathering’s embarrassing rout within the Lok Sabha elections. He, nevertheless, stayed away from the political scene after that and was absent in Parliament for the primary week of the Winter Session that 12 months.

The identical 12 months, Union House Minister Amit Shah instructed the Lok Sabha that the Congress chief has travelled overseas not less than 247 occasions between 2015 and 2019 with out informing the SPG, making it a mean of 62 journeys a 12 months and 5 journeys a month.

In October 2019, Rahul lower quick his campaigns and left for Bangkok, a fortnight forward of the essential meeting elections in Haryana and Maharashtra.

In early 2020, when the nation was within the midst of a raging anti-CAA protest, Rahul was on a visit to South Korea. His delegation reportedly left simply hours earlier than the protest in Jamia Milia Islamia College turned violent. The Congress, in Rahul’s defence, had mentioned the journey was deliberate upfront. Rahul additionally missed out the final leg of the election marketing campaign in Jharkhand because of the tour, leaving it to his sister Priyanka to make up for his absence in a rally in Pakur.

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In December that 12 months, the Congress chief left for Italy a day earlier than the 136^th basis day of the social gathering, leaving social gathering leaders fumbling for reply for his absence. The Congress later mentioned that the chief was not on a vacation and was in Italy to satisfy an ailing relative and his grandmother.

The Wayanad MP, who has been vocal about his help for farmers protesting in opposition to the farm legal guidelines, got here underneath extreme criticism for leaving for Italy in December 2020, when lots of of farmers have been sitting in biting chilly on the borders of Delhi.