<p>Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will leave for the US on Thursday to be with his ailing mother and party president Sonia Gandhi.<br /><br />Sonia (70) had gone abroad for a health checkup last week and is expected to return in a fortnight. Usually, Rahul or his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompany Sonia for her follow-up treatment after she underwent a surgery in 2011.<br /><br />Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, in a statement to the press, announced Rahul’s travel plans in a bid to avoid controversy at a time when the party has faced its worst-ever defeat in the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.<br />“Congress president Sonia Gandhi is travelling abroad for a health checkup. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi shall travel there today (Thursday) to be with her and accompany the Congress president on the return journey,” the statement read.<br /><br />Due to her illness, Sonia had not campaigned in the elections to five states, including Uttar Pradesh — a state she represents in the Lok Sabha.<br /><br />Rahul’s foreign trips have often triggered controversies, with critics claiming it showed his disinterest in politics.<br /><br />Only on Tuesday Rahul had said “structural and organisational” changes would be required in the Congress after its loss in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.<br /></p>
<p>Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will leave for the US on Thursday to be with his ailing mother and party president Sonia Gandhi.<br /><br />Sonia (70) had gone abroad for a health checkup last week and is expected to return in a fortnight. Usually, Rahul or his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompany Sonia for her follow-up treatment after she underwent a surgery in 2011.<br /><br />Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, in a statement to the press, announced Rahul’s travel plans in a bid to avoid controversy at a time when the party has faced its worst-ever defeat in the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.<br />“Congress president Sonia Gandhi is travelling abroad for a health checkup. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi shall travel there today (Thursday) to be with her and accompany the Congress president on the return journey,” the statement read.<br /><br />Due to her illness, Sonia had not campaigned in the elections to five states, including Uttar Pradesh — a state she represents in the Lok Sabha.<br /><br />Rahul’s foreign trips have often triggered controversies, with critics claiming it showed his disinterest in politics.<br /><br />Only on Tuesday Rahul had said “structural and organisational” changes would be required in the Congress after its loss in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.<br /></p>
