Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sidestepped questions about Rahul Gandhi’s reported Vietnam trip on Tuesday, October 20. When asked about the leader's whereabouts, Tharoor said, "I am not a travel agent." The BJP used Gandhi’s absence to target the Congress leader while protests against the Election Commission continued in the capital.
A question about Rahul Gandhi's whereabouts, and allegations that the Lok Sabha LoP had flown to Vietnam, drew a pointed response from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Tharoor, who appeared in no mood to explain the Congress leader's travel plans, said, "I am not a travel agent." Tharoor's response came even as several groups and parties have been protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar demanding his resignation. It was amid these protests, including those led by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi himself, that the BJP alleged that the Rae Bareli MP had flown out of India to Vietnam.
The BJP, which has in the past questioned Rahul Gandhi's foreign trips, used this absence from the national capital into a political flashpoint.
When asked about Rahul's whereabouts, Tharoor, the Congress MP from Keralam's Thiruvananthapuram, said that he couldn't comment on that.
"I am not a travel agent. There is no point in asking me that question," Tharoor said while speaking to journalists.
"Why did I leave Delhi and come here now? Every person has certain responsibilities. So, I cannot comment on that," he added.
With this response, Tharoor also stopped short of directly addressing the BJP's criticism, leaving the political argument over Rahul Gandhi's absence to play out between the two parties.
BJP TARGETS RAHUL OVER VIETNAM TRIP
The BJP has accused Rahul Gandhi of going on vacation at a time when the Opposition was protesting in the national capital. The saffron party alleged that the Congress leader had grown tired of "shouting lies" during the demonstrations.
On Tuesday (October 20), the BJP shared a video on X purportedly showing Rahul Gandhi aboard a flight to Vietnam, using the footage to take a swipe at the Congress leader over his foreign travel.
The video became part of the party's broader attack on Rahul Gandhi, with the BJP seeking to question his absence while the Opposition was mobilising against the Election Commission over the SIR exercise.
The controversy comes amid protests by Opposition parties and other civil society and pressure groups against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the SIR. The SIR exercise has emerged as a major political flashpoint, with the Opposition raising concerns about the electoral process.
CONGRESS HITS BACK AT BJP
The Congress has pushed back against the BJP's criticism, arguing that Rahul Gandhi's foreign travel should not become a political issue.
Congress leader and former MP Sandeep Dikshit questioned why the LoP's movements were being singled out, arguing that politicians, like other individuals, travel abroad for various reasons.
"Who travels where and when, what is the issue? Do others not travel abroad? Rahul Gandhi is an individual and the leader of the opposition. He has his duties," Dikshit told ANI.
He also pointed to Rahul Gandhi's engagements with students at Yale University, interactions with students in London and meetings with intellectuals abroad. Dikshit further contrasted Rahul Gandhi's "willingness to give press interviews", which he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn't give".
Days after attacks and counter-attacks on "regime change", the exchange over Rahul Gandhi's reported Vietnam trip has become another point of confrontation between the BJP and the Congress. The BJP used the trip to question the Congress leader's commitment to the Opposition's protests, and the Congress has accused the saffron camp of making an unnecessary issue of his personal movements.
Tharoor's response, meanwhile, kept him out of the business of explaining Rahul Gandhi's itinerary.