On December 19, General Secretary in-charge Communications for Indian National Congress Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) would take a 9-day break starting from December 24. Though he did not mention Christmas and New Year, it was obvious that the break would include these two festivities.
#BharatJodoYatra 24 दिसंबर की शाम को दिल्ली पहुंचेगी।उसके बाद 9 दिनों का ब्रेक होगा, ताकि कंटेनरों को मरम्मत करके उत्तर में पड़ने वाली कठोर सर्दी के लिए तैयार किया जा सके।साथ ही कई भारत यात्री लगभग 4 महीने बाद अपने परिवार के साथ समय बिता सकें।3 जनवरी 2023 को यात्रा फिर शुरू होगी।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 19, 2022
In the tweet, Ramesh said, “Bharat Jodo Yatra will reach Delhi on December 24. It will then take a break of nine days so that the containers can be repaired and prepared for the harsh winters in the north. Also, many participants will be able to spend time with their family members after about four months. The journey will resume on January 3, 2023.” Notably, BJY will be paused in the middle of the Delhi chapter and will resume from the national capital itself. Furthermore, it is unclear where Rahul Gandhi will spend the break.
Netizens react to BJY break
Netizens did not miss a chance to speculate where Rahul Gandhi would spend those nine days. Twitter user Rishi Bagree said, “From December 24 to January 2, BJY will be closed as the leader is going out [abroad] to live with his family. Sorry for the interruption.”
24 दिसंबर से 2 जनवरी तक भारत जोड़ो बंद रहेगा क्योंकि भारत जोड़ने वाला मिस्त्री अपने परिवार के साथ रहने के लिए बाहर जा रहा है।
— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) December 19, 2022
इस रूकावट के लिए खेद है
Lutyens Watch pointed out that Gandhi skipped the winter session of the Parliament for BJY, and now he will be skipping BJY for the Christmas holidays.
Rahul Gandhi can skip Parliament for Bharat Jodo
— Lutyens Watch (@LutyensWatch) December 19, 2022
Rahul Gandhi can skip Bharat Jodo Yatra for Christmas holidays
Now, fill up the blank:
Rahul Gandhi can skip… https://t.co/RCeyiukUB1 pic.twitter.com/d7LUCjhz4e
Twitter user Tarunabh said, “Wasn’t the maintenance and repair accounted for when the Yatra was planned? If it was planned beforehand, why is this news coming now? No matter how much this break is pretended as something else, the message has gone out that the protagonist wants a break for himself.”
Wasn’t the maintenance and repair accounted for when the Yatra was planned? If it was planned beforehand, why is this news coming now? No matter how much this break is pretended as something else the message has gone out that the protagonist wants a break for himself.
— Tarunabh (@tarunabhverma) December 19, 2022
Twitter user Jayan shared an old tweet of Rahul Gandhi where he had announced travel plans for the New Year in December 2016.
Why take the trouble with all that unwanted excuses when you have this old tweet to share.https://t.co/XKS6iae4WG
— 𝓙𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓷 🇮🇳 (@jayancm) December 19, 2022
Twitter user Sudhir Singh said, “The actual message is Rahul Gandhi is flying out to celebrate Xmas and New Year with his family; hence the yatra is going to a pause for few days. It will restart once he is back.”
The actual message is……
— SUDHIR SINGH राजावत 🇮🇳💙 (@rishuthakur8211) December 19, 2022
Rahul Gandhi is flying out to celebrate xmas and New Year with his family hence the yatra is going to a pause for few days
It will restart once he is back https://t.co/I4kEMVtv9M
Rahul Gandhi skipped the parliament winter session
On December 4, Congress MP KC Venugopal claimed that it would not be practical for Gandhi to attend the winter session of the Parliament amidst the ongoing BJY. Addressing the press in Delhi, KC Venugopal said, “Bharat Jodo Yatra is underway. It is not practical for Rahul Gandhi to attend the winter session of Parliament.”
Rahul Gandhi’s past vacations
In January 2021, it was reported that Gandhi returned after spending holidays abroad for New Year’s eve. He went to an undisclosed location that was believed to be Milan.
In 2016, Gandhi himself announced that he would be travelling. There were multiple instances when Gandhi went abroad for holidays and even missed important parliament sessions and his own party’s events. For example, in July 2022, amidst the Goa crisis, he went on a foreign trip. In May 2022, he was seen in a nightclub in Nepal.
In April 2022, he went missing for ten days. Before Diwali 2021, he reportedly went to London. In September 2021, amidst political drama in Punjab, he was spending holidays with his family in Shimla. In November 2019, he vanished after suggesting Congress hold press conferences across India. In May 2019, he vanished before counting votes for the Lok Sabha elections.
