Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's ongoing visit to Vietnam has drawn the usual barbs from the BJP, with the ruling party reiterating that he is not the "Leader of the Opposition" but a "Leader of partying and tourism". What makes the barbs sharper is that Gandhi was in Germany less than a month ago -- leaving India as the Winter Session of parliament was on and the overhaul of the UPA government's flagship programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), was being discussed.
"Rahul Gandhi is permanently in vacation mode," said the BJP's Shahzad Poonawala.
"Between two vacations, he visits India for a few days, goes on a jungle safari, and then leaves. After losing elections, he blames the Election Commission. This shows Rahul Gandhi is not a serious politician, but an immature one. That's why even his allies are unhappy with him," he said.
Declaring that even the Congress's allies are unhappy with Gandhi, Poonawala said, "John Brittas says Rahul Gandhi left Parliament to go abroad. IP Singh of the Samajwadi Party and even some Congress leaders are saying 'Rahul Hatao, Priyanka Lao' (Remove Rahul, Bring Priyanka)."
BJP MLA Jitendra Gothwal said it has become a practice of Rahul Gandhi to travel abroad whenever crucial national issues arise.
"Whenever there is an important issue related to the country or a meeting where he should play a decisive role as the Leader of the Opposition, he chooses to go abroad for leisure instead," Gothwal said.
BJP Bihar President Sanjay Saraogi questioned LoP Gandhi's commitment to the country.
"When does he actually stay in the country? Does he truly love the soil of India? During the Bihar elections, he came briefly, held roadshows, and then went abroad again. He is constantly on foreign trips," he remarked.
The Congress's stock response to such allegations is to point at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pointing to how much time he spends abroad.
This time, SP spokesperson Ashutosh Verma said Gandhi is "trying to achieve even a small fraction of what the Prime Minister has accomplished through foreign visits".
"While the Prime Minister has crossed major milestones, Rahul Gandhi is also making efforts, though I do not think these efforts have had much impact," he added.
