Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi recently returned from a trip to Oslo, where he had gone on the invitation of the Norwegian foreign ministry. And now it turns out that he will soon be visiting the US to interact with researchers working in the field of artificial intelligence.
The almost back-to-back foreign trips coming at a time when politics is getting more intense, especially with elections coming up in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, has raised eyebrows in political circles. The foreign sojourns have also generated immense mirth, with Twitter cracking up with jokes and satirical observations.
Reacting to tweets by his Norwegian hosts, showing Rahul in a 'Bandgala suit' during his visit to the Scandinavian nation, his supporters gushed over his sartorial makeover. But there were tweets that took a critical look. One tweet noted “the Suit Boot ke Rahulji”, apparently a reminder of Rahul's 'Suit Boot ki Sarkar' jibe at the Narendra Modi government.
The upcoming US visit has been planned by Sam Pitroda, who heads Overseas Congress. A leader close to Rahul said the Congress vice president intends to make use of his experience from the trip to include the topic of artificial intelligence in the party's vision document for the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
On September 11, Rahul will deliver a lecture on 'India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward' at an event organised by the Institute of International Studies Berkeley Research on Contemporary India Programme and the Institute for South Asia Studies at the University of California.
Ahead of his trip to Norway, Rahul had tweeted: “On the invitation of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be travelling to Oslo for a few days.” The visit to Oslo came at a time when the Opposition leaders gathered in Patna for the 'BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao' rally organised by RJD chief Lalu Prasad. The Congress vice president's absence at the rally was talked about.
Also, when Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh landed in Delhi, raising a banner of revolt, Rahul was away in Norway, and Congress President Sonia Gandhi stepped in, meeting the CM to try and mollify him.
A leader close to Rahul said both the trips were planned much in advance, but they are certainly making for bad optics, especially as election season closes in. Rahul recently visited Gujarat, where he oversaw poll preparations. He has held meetings with leaders from Bihar in an effort to prevent a possible exodus of MLAs to the JD(U). He is set to undertake a visit to Maharashtra on Friday, where he will have meetings with representatives of local bodies, the farming community and civil society. He will address a public meeting in Parbhani.
