'Missing' Rahul to attend farmers' rally

Missing from the political scene for over a month, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is expected to return next month in time for the farmers’ rally planned by the party on April 19 to oppose the land acquisition bill.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has been leading the party’s agitation against the Modi government’s controversial amendments to the land bill, will address the rally at Ramlila Maidan to be attended by farmers from across the country.

“Every senior leader will take part,” AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, the convenor of the rally, told reporters when asked about Rahul’s presence at the event.
The 44-year-old Gandhi scion has been on a “leave of absence” from politics since mid-February, with rumour mills agog over the reasons for the sabbatical that was announced on the eve of the Budget session of Parliament.

The Congress had earlier planned the rally for April 12, and even booked the Ramlila grounds for the event. However, a meeting of AICC general secretaries and senior leaders chaired by former defence minister A K Antony on Monday decided that the rally would be held on April 19.

Incidentally, Rahul’s return would take place on the eve of re-convening of the Budget session after a month-long recess.