NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for reportedly traveling to Vietnam, his second visit to the country this year.
During a press conference, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad casted doubts about the frequency of Rahul’s visits to Vietnam and said that the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha must explain his fondness for the Southeast Asian country.
“One heard Rahul Gandhi was in Vietnam during Holi after being there during the New Year as well. He is spending more time in Vietnam than in his constituency. He needs to explain his extraordinary fondness for Vietnam,” Prasad said.
“The frequency of his visits to that country is very curious,” he added.
Rahul’s recent trip comes months after he traveled to Vietnam during the seven-day national mourning period for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Earlier in January, the BJP had alleged that Rahul “exploited” former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s death for his “expedient politics” and flew to Vietnam to ring in the New Year while the country mourned his passing.
“While the country is mourning Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s demise, Rahul Gandhi has flown to Vietnam to ring in the New Year. Rahul Gandhi politicized and exploited Dr. Singh’s death for his expedient politics, but his contempt for him is unmissable,” BJP’s Amit Malviya had said.
The Congress party refuted the allegations and remained silent on the controversy surrounding Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Vietnam during the seven-day mourning period declared by the Centre.
Senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat defended Rahul’s visit to Vietnam, saying the party leader was visiting the Southeast Asian country “to study its economic model.”
“I believe he has gone to Vietnam to study its economy and social system, which are currently a model. He has gone there to study their economic model… If after a difficult and busy election year, he, as an individual, takes some time out for himself, then why is the BJP trying to look for a political twist in it?” Congress leader Harish Rawat had said.