New Delhi: A Delhi Congress worker tweeted photos today of Mr Gandhi apparently on a trek in Uttarakhand, but the party has said those are old pictures. "What was told to all of us was that he had felt this need constantly to take a few days off to contemplate, to introspect," said Ms Soni. "If he had gone as he wanted to even before the Delhi election, then you would've said 'See. Congress is losing. He didn't want to face the field so he's gone off.' "
The Congress was decimated in last month's election in Delhi, unable to win a single seat in the city-state it had governed for 15 years. That electoral decimation was the latest in a series of results that have placed the Congress at the bottom of the heap. In last year's national election, Mr Gandhi led the Congress campaign which climaxed with the party accumulating its worst-ever performance.
Ms Soni said that before his departure - the party refuses to comment on whether Mr Gandhi is abroad - he organised the rally held by the Congress today against the Prime Minister's proposal for new land acquisition rules.
Rahul Gandhi wanted to take some time off before the Delhi election to "introspect" and "contemplate", said Ambika Soni, a senior Congress leader, defending her Vice President's decision to take what has turned into a nationally-debated "leave of absence."
That is how the Congress has described Mr Gandhi's MIA status as a crucial session of Parliament begins. Mr Gandhi, 44, has been pilloried for going off the radar at a time when the government is presenting its first annual budget, and is under attack from the Congress for land reforms that make it easier for businesses to buy farm land for industry and infrastructure projects.
The Congress was decimated in last month's election in Delhi, unable to win a single seat in the city-state it had governed for 15 years. That electoral decimation was the latest in a series of results that have placed the Congress at the bottom of the heap. In last year's national election, Mr Gandhi led the Congress campaign which climaxed with the party accumulating its worst-ever performance.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Lok Sabha Election 2024 Results LIVE: In Delhi, BJP Leads On All 7 Seats, Heartbreak For INDIA Bloc Delhi Election Result 2024 Highlights: BJP On Way To Win All 7 Seats In Delhi DUSU Election Results: Counting Of Votes In DU Students Union Polls Begins 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing Ayatollah Khamenei Warns Of "Divine Wrath" If Iran Backs Down Against Israel 9 Arrested For Violence At Kolkata Hospital Where Doctor Was Raped-Murdered Water On Mars: Uncovering All The Locations Water Was Found On Red Planet Huge Participation At Independence Day Celebrations By Army's Spear Corps Akasa Air Flight Makes Emergency Landing In Bhopal For Sick Passenger Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.