Rahul Gandhi Likely To Cancel China Visit After 11-Day Holiday Is Criticised

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi, just back from an 11-day vacation abroad, is likely to cancel a visit to China next week amid criticism that he has been away holidaying while his Congress party prepares to fight crucial elections in five states. The Congress vice president had planned to lead a party delegation to China on the invitation of the central party there - Communist Party of China.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told NDTV that a Congress delegation will go to China but it is "not finalised" whether Rahul Gandhi will go. Other party sources said it was unlikely.

Mr Gandhi returned to Delhi's political scene today wearing a brown sweater and stubble and was spotted driving his mother out of his residence after an hour-long meeting of top party leaders there. Unlike his frequent interactions with the media recently, today he did not stop to answer questions from reporters, possibly because he would have been asked to comment on his absence in this period of hectic political activity.

While Mr Gandhi was away, the Election Commission announced polls in five states including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, where crucial decisions for the Congress are pending. In Punjab, where nominations begin tomorrow an elections will be held in less than a month, the party is yet to announce candidates for 40 of the 117 seats.

Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh acknowledged that they were waiting for their boss to return to finalise candidates and for cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu's induction into the party. "He is back now and we will finalise ticket," Captain said. Mr Sidhu has reportedly said he will join the Congress only when Rahul Gandhi is present.

Randeep Surjewala has dismissed the criticism as an attempt by political rival the BJP to deflect attention from what the Congress leader called its government's "failure to implement demonetisation."

"The BJP is jittery as Rahul Gandhi has personally exposed the corruption of Modi. They attack Rahul because he has exposed them," Mr Surjewala alleged. The Congress says that Mr Gandhi will hit the ground running with a massive rally in Delhi on Wednesday called the Janvedna Sammelan, which "will also bring out demons of demonetisation."

Two years ago, Mr Gandhi had been pummeled by critics over a 56-day sabbatical that he had taken, missing a significant portion of that year's Budget session of parliament.