The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a swipe at Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his purported ongoing foreign trip, saying the Congress leader is “tired of spreading lies” after his campaign against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, even as the Opposition said all protests have been put on hold in view of the festive season.
Taking to X, the BJP shared a purported video of Gandhi seated inside a business-class cabin of a flight. “I’m tired of spreading lies… Let me go roam around Vietnam for a few days… Who would even find out?” it said.
The INDIA bloc has been seeking Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and even held a series of protests in recent days. Gandhi was at the forefront of the protests and marches in Delhi, even as he and several other leaders were detained on several occasions.
The purported tour also comes after Gandhi’s participation in the Congress’s Goa Rakhon Yatra in the poll-bound state. According to reports, he is expected to be away for four days.
BJP spokesperson RP Singh accused Gandhi of repeatedly going abroad after participating in political campaigns. “After undertaking a yatra in Bihar, he went abroad on a holiday for two months,” he said, suggesting that the latest trip followed a familiar pattern.
BJP leader Shazia Ilmi also questioned Gandhi’s commitment, accusing him of using political protests as an excuse for taking another break.
The Congress dismissed the BJP’s criticism as an unnecessary controversy.
“He is merely stepping away for two or three days; what is the problem with that? The INDIA bloc will stage a massive protest against Gyanesh Kumar on November 1st,” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal told a Malayalam news channel.
Former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit said Gandhi’s foreign visits often involved interactions with students and intellectuals, and questioned why the BJP was making an issue of the trip.
Dikshit also cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign visits, arguing that the same scrutiny was not applied to his travel.
Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, ”Regime change will happen… Rahul Gandhi has gone to Vietnam. Let him return; it will happen!"
The BJP has often been critical of Gandhi’s frequent foreign tours. While debating on a bill to remove Special Protection Group (SPG) cover from the Gandhi family in 2019, Union home minister Amit Shah said Gandhi travelled abroad 156 times, of which 143 were made without SPG cover.