Rahul’s holiday plan draws BJP jibe

New Delhi: At a time when the Congress is trying to extract maximum mileage out of the spiralling farmers’ agitation in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is all set to go on a vacation, this time to meet his maternal grandmother who is supposed to be in Italy.

Announcing his plans on Tuesday, Mr Gandhi tweeted, “I will be travelling to meet my grandmother and family for a few days. Looking forward to spending some time with them.”

Mr Gandhi will be celebrating his 47th birthday, on June 19, with his family.

His tweet came about a week after he was prevented from entering Mandsaur to address the agitating farmers.

The BJP, which has often joked about Mr Gandhi’s lack commitment to politics, could not resist taking pot shots at him.

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya used his rustic humour to take a dig at the Congress scion. “Rahulji se aap kisan ki chinta ki apeksha na karein. Woh rajniti karte hain picnic manane ke liye… Hum log jab bachche the toh nanihal jaya karte the, garmion ki chuttiyon mein (Don’t expect Rahul Gandhi to worry about the farmers’ plight. Politics is merely a picnic for him. When we were kids, we visited our grandmothers during summer vacations),” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi visits India between his foreign visits,” BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao quipped.

Mr Gandhi has been in the line of fire over his foreign visits ever since he took a 56-day sabbatical in March-April 2015.

This time too eyebrows are being raised, including within his party, about the timing of his vacation. Apart from the ongoing agrarian unrest in Madhya Pradesh, the announcement of his trip has come at a time when the Congress is trying to stitch together a united Opposition for the forthcoming presidential polls.

Leaders close to Mr Gandhi defended him by saying that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had taken the charge to rally and field a joint Opposition candidate for the presidential elections, and not Mr Gandhi.

Congress communications chief Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “Rahulji is travelling abroad to meet his 93-year old grandmother and family. To take care of elders and see to their well being is part of our culture.”

He then hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inviting TV channels to telecast his visits to meet his mother in Gujarat. “There are people who take television crews along when they go to meet their mothers,” the Congress leader said.

With Parliament session likely to start on July 12, Mr Gandhi is expected to be back soon as he is likely to lead the Congress’ attack against the government on the floor of the House.