Rahul Gandhi tweets vacation plan, to spend time with grandmother

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi announced on Twitter that he is headed abroad to visit his grandmother.

“Will be travelling to meet my grandmother & family for a few days. Looking forward to spending some time with them,” he tweeted.

He did not mention where is heading to and for how many days. But Congress officials said he will probably be heading to Italy as his grandmother Paola Maino lives there. As the exact dates are kept under wraps for security and other reasons, he could be leaving Delhi for abroad as early as Tuesday night. He could be away for ten days, they said.

In March this year, Rahul visited the US, where his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had gone for a health check-up.

As his latest foreign visit comes in the midst of  the upcoming presidential election and other developments like the farmers agitation, the BJP took a dig. "Rahul Gandhi visits India in between his foreign vacations," said BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao.

The Congress said the controversy over Rahul Gandhi's trip was unnecessary. "Rahul is going to Italy to visit his 93-year-old grandmother, to see how she's been. We strongly criticise those who are trying to politicise this," said party spokesperson R S Surjewala.

Last week, Rahul had traveled to meet the families of the six protesters killed in police firing in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh. He was briefly detained by police with curfew imposed in several districts after farmers’ protests turned violent. 

As Rahul will be away now, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will be in discussion with other opposition leaders over the election of the President of India, scheduled for next month. Opposition leaders will meet in Delhi to discuss their strategy on Wednesday.