New Delhi: The sudden disappearance of the Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi has stoked a fresh controversy, with the party on the back foot and hard-pressed to defend him.
Gandhi, 45, left for an undisclosed location on Tuesday. The Congress party has since been clueless about his whereabouts other than that he has gone to US to attend Weekend with Charlie Rose event. The team of party spokespersons have no idea about when would he return home, saying only that he would be back soon.
The controversy Friday took a new turn with Karen Petersen, Registrar and Conference Manager of Aspen Ideas Festival being quoted that the event was long over. Petersen said that the Weekend with Charlie Rose ended in the first week of July this year. She further said that the thought festival has followed the same schedule since its inception in 2005.
“I don’t see Rahul Gandhi listed as a speaker in any Aspen-related event, public or private, in the past or in the near future,” Petersen was quoted as saying.
Her statement has put the Congress party in uncomfortable situation while giving strength to the rival Bharatiya Janata Party’s claim that he was simply holidaying somewhere yet again and had not gone to attend any conference.
“The Weekend with Charlie Rose was held between June 25 and July 4. Congress (party) is lying about Rahul Gandhi’s whereabouts,” BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said.
The Congress party, however, continued to insist that Gandhi indeed was in the US to attend the event, terming the BJP statement as part of a propaganda.
“The event is a private conference of 100 leaders and it is currently underway ... We will release photographs and copies of the invitation once the event is over,” sources in the Congress party said.
The chief spokesman of the Congress party, Randeep Surjewala, has already made a U turn. First he termed Gandhi’s visit as a short personal visit abroad and later changed his tune saying he was in Aspen to attend a conference.
It is the second occasion for the Congress party vice president to slip out of the country at a crucial time. He had gone to an undisclosed location abroad just before the budget session of parliament started in February and returned after being away for 56 days.
His latest visit comes when the Bihar elections are at hand. Gandhi addressed one rally in Bihar before going away, despite being expected to head the party’s campaign in the eastern state which goes to assembly polls in five phases starting October 12.
Suggestions are also being made in the Congress party circles that he has gone to US to see his ailing grandmother. Gandhi’s latest visit coincides with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s weeklong US tour which is currently on.
