Lucknow: Capping a week of the disappearance of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a lawyer based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court seeking to find out his whereabouts. Other reports suggest, he may be at an undisclosed location in Europe instead of in Bangkok as was previously rumoured. He has reportedly gone to do Buddhist vipassana for two weeks and intends to return, to eventually be elevated as party President.
Ever since Rahul Gandhis sabbatical, timed to coincide with the start of the politically crucial Budget Session of Parliament was announced earlier last week, the future leader of the Congress- Indias oldest political party has been reduced to a butt of jokes. His supposed holiday aimed at reflection has been ridiculed by many, and rival BJP has had a great time milking it for what its worth before its constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, from where Rahul Gandhi is an elected MP. In Allahabad, for instance, posters sprang up declaring a big reward for anyone willing to offer information about the junior Gandhi’s whereabouts. Congress ke senapati laa-pata, read the posters. (Leader of Congress missing.) The poster, said to be the handiwork of local BJP leaders, carries a big photo of Rahul Gandhi and that of a BJP leader.
They promise: “Suchna dene waale ko maala maal kiya jaayega.” (The person giving information will get a huge reward.) Interestingly, the posters have also been put up outside Anand Bhavan, the ancestral house of the Nehru-Gandhi family, as also near the district Congress office.
BJP MP and renowned Bhojpuri singer Manoj Tiwari also took the opportunity to poke fun at the Congress vice-president. “He is an unmarried child. Let him roam around in Bangkok and Pataya,” he quipped while replying to reporters’ questions in Varanasi on Wednesday. “Why are you making such an issue about it. He has all the right to go there,” he was heard saying on a news channel, hiding his face with both his hands to suppress his laughter.
Theres a wave of disenchantment in Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Amethi, too. It’s totally inappropriate of him to be holidaying at a time when the Parliament would be debating the budget, said Ramesh Sharma, a local resident. He should have been there to raise our voice for new schemes and more funds for Amethi’s development, he said angrily.
Meanwhile, Ashok Pande, a Lucknow-based advocate took things much further. In his PIL filed before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, Pande has sought news of Gandhis whereabouts explaining that he deems it necessary for the safety of the Congress Vice-President who is also an MP, and because he says, the reputation of the Government of India was involved.
Pande contended in his petition that since Gandhi enjoyed security cover of the elite Special Protection Group (SPG), he could not disappear without proper information.
I have prayed that the court should direct Government of India (through Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs) and Director General (of) SPG to search for Rahul Gandhi and if he is not under the security of SPG, it should take him under its cover, he said.
Meanwhile, other reports in the media quote a Congress source close to party president Sonia Gandhi as stating that Rahul Gandhi is actually somewhere in Europe to do Buddhist vipassana for two weeks and will return by March 9. Before leaving for Europe, the Congress vice president had reportedly left a detailed paper with Sonia Gandhi articulating his blueprint for the revival of the party. The note was attached with his leave application but was later pruned at the behest of the Congress president.
The entire note was reportedly prepared by Kanishka Singh who is now working as OSD for Priyanka Gandhi. Singh was earlier attached to Rahul Gandhi’s office.
Indications are that Rahul Gandhi who is certain to take over the reins of his party as President is unlikely to do so immediately at the AICC Session in April. The possibility of a takeover in November appears more likely, sources have said. The reasons for this are two-fold: Firstly, to eliminate the possibility of sending the wrong signal to party workers by elevating Rahul Gandhi before Sonia Gandhi’s tenure comes to end in September, and secondly to complete organisational elections within the party first. Rahul Gandhi is reportedly in no mood to work with the current general secretaries and wants a new elected team in place.
Sonia Gandhi on the other hand is expected to continue to work as chairperson of the Congress parliamentary party.
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