The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress continued to spar over the possibility of Rahul Gandhi leaving the country for a trip during the New Year’s week. When Gandhi paused his Bharat Jodo Yatra till January 9 it was speculated that he was doing so to go for a trip. BJP attacked the leader saying that he didn’t stop his yatra during winter session.
However, Gandhi proved the BJP wrong with a visit to samadhis of former PMs including that of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chaudhary Charan Singh a day after Christmas, giving the spokesperson of the party an opportunity to attack the BJP.
The Congress took an indirect swipe at Union Minister Pralhad Joshi who had said that the former party chief would suspend his Bharat Jodo Yatra for a trip abroad.
Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “A BJP leader had said Rahul Gandhi would travel abroad for a Christmas break. But when the minister and BJP leader, wrapped up in a blanket in the severe cold, was busy breaking the country, Mr Gandhi was paying tributes at the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Chaudhary Charan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.”
While Shrinate did not name the BJP leader, she was referring to the remarks of Joshi, who had predicted that the Yatra would be paused as Gandhi was taking a Christmas break to travel abroad.