BJP leader Amit Malviya has accused Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi of taking repeated, undisclosed foreign trips, criticizing his repeated absence from crucial events in India.
While sharing a post on his official X handle on Tuesday, Malviya said, "Rahul Gandhi took a clandestine foreign vacation last week. Now, he's flown out of the country again — to yet another unknown destination."
Raising suspicions about these foreign trips, Malviya further stated,
"Why such frequent vanishing acts? What is so irresistible that keeps him out of the country so often? Being the Leader of the Opposition, he owes the people of India explanations."
Congress Party quickly dismissed Malviya's allegations, accusing the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of indulging in what it termed as "dirty tricks."
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera replied on X, explaining that Rahul Gandhi had visited London for a family personal event.
"The Prime Minister's Office is playing its usual dirty tricks. It knows nothing else but these dirty tricks. Mr Rahul Gandhi has gone to London for the graduation ceremony of his niece and will return soon," Khera replied.
Rahul Gandhi's foreign visits have previously sparked criticism and political controversy, with his being accused by the BJP of being out of place during important national events. Most recently, his absence during Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's visit to the crash site of the Air India plane in Ahmedabad had raised eyebrows. Gandhi, however, had taken to X and offered his condolences for the accident, saying the accident was "heartbreaking" and requested Congress workers to provide support to the victims.
Gandhi was seen in public on June 19, the day his mother Sonia Gandhi was released from a Delhi hospital, where she had been admitted on June 15. Pictures were shared online of him holding gifts, during his birthday celebrations with hospital staff and mother.
Although criticized for his physical absence, Rahul Gandhi has been vocal on social media. On June 21, he targeted the Modi government's 'Make in India' policy, sharing a video from Delhi's Nehru Place electronics market. "We make, import, but don't manufacture. China gains. Clock is ticking," he posted, after questioning local mobile repair workers about India's manufacturing deficits.
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