Congress rallies behind Rahul as BJP questions Vietnam trip amid CJP protests

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mocked Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his trip to Vietnam, the Congress defended his visit, emphasising his right to personal breaks between political campaigns.

He is entitled to visit any place during his personal time, Congress said. 

BJP on Monday shared a video on X showing Rahul Gandhi seated in a business-class cabin on a flight. "I'm tired of spreading lies...Let me go roam around Vietnam for a few days...Who would even find out," read the post by the BJP. 

The trip comes at a time when the Opposition and Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are intensifying their protest demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar relating to the SIR of electoral rolls. 

Gandhi's Vietnam trip came after he participated in the Congress's Goy Rakhon Yatra in poll-bound Goa. He had walked for two kilometres alongside party leaders during the yatra. 

"Look, Rahul Gandhi does this every time. After undertaking a yatra in Bihar, he went abroad on holiday for two months. Perhaps he went to Vietnam then, and maybe he has gone to Vietnam again this time," BJP spokesperson RP Singh said.

On October 12, Congress and other INDIA bloc leaders held a 'March of Democracy'  and submitted a petition concerning the SIR of electoral rolls. 

While speaking to ANI, Sandeep Dikshit, chairperson of Rachnatmak Congress, said Gandhi had a personal life alongside his responsibilities as the Leader of the Opposition. He added that Gandhi made productive use of his visits abroad.

"Rahul Gandhi has a personal life. Besides, he has his own responsibilities as the Leader of the Opposition. Every time he goes, he does something productive. Sometimes, he meets students of Yale University; sometimes he meets intellectuals. He always does something that benefits the country," Dikshit said.