The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday targeted Rahul Gandhi for his alleged mysterious abroad trips after reports suggested that the former Congress chief would be returning to India late in the evening following his recent visit to the United States. Rahul Gandhi went to the US late last month for a six-day visit during which he interacted with the Indian diaspora, venture capitalists, tech executives and students.
Gandhi is scheduled to return to India late evening, reported ANI citing sources in the Congress party, almost 21 days after he arrived in the US.
“Why does Rahul Gandhi spend so much time abroad, especially with a large part of his trips being shrouded in mystery?” BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said in a tweet.
He added, “Several reports on his clandestine meetings with foreign agencies and groups inimical to India’s interest raise further questions on the purpose of these visits…”
Rahul Gandhi is returning to India ahead of a key Opposition meeting in Patna on June 23, in which leaders from different non-BJP political parties will participate. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Gandhi are all set to attend the meeting convened by chief minister Nitish Kumar as a part of his efforts to forge a united Opposition ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Almost all key opposition leaders barring Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekhar Rao are likely to attend the meeting. A senior leader of KCR's Bharat Rashtra Samithi the party will continue with its equidistance from both the BJP and the Congress, a stance likely prompted by coming assembly elections in the state where the two national rivals will take on the regional party.
{{/usCountry}}Almost all key opposition leaders barring Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekhar Rao are likely to attend the meeting. A senior leader of KCR's Bharat Rashtra Samithi the party will continue with its equidistance from both the BJP and the Congress, a stance likely prompted by coming assembly elections in the state where the two national rivals will take on the regional party.
{{/usCountry}}The Opposition leaders who are expected to attend the meeting include West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Left leaders, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and Shiv Sena (UBT) group president Uddhav Thackeray among other key personalities.