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Rahul Gandhi to return to Delhi on April 15?

April 04, 2015 10:38 IST

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is on a long sabbatical, is likely to return on April 15 ahead of Congress’ proposed Kisan rally in New Delhi on April 19 against the Land Acquisition Bill brought out by the Narendra Modi government.

Rahul has been missing in action for over a month and Congress has insisted that he has been granted leave of absence to introspect over the party's affairs following a string of electoral reverses starting with its rout in Lok Sabha elections.

He skipped the first leg of the crucial budget session of Parliament, inviting sharp criticism from the opposition parties with even senior Congress leader like Digvijay Singh finding fault with the timing of his leave.

According to Congress sources, he will return to Delhi on April 15, ahead of a party rally to attack the government over its land reforms.

Rahul's disappearance from the political scene has given the BJP enough reasons to take a jibe at the former's party.

Doubting reports of Rahul's return, BJP on Thursday said it is not sure if such news reports are true and that his "vacation' is finally over.

"Are you serious?," is how BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain responded when reporters sought his response.

"We do not know if reports about the date Rahul Gandhi is coming on are true. No Congress spokesperson has made any statement to this effect. What plane is he coming on, when will he meet (others), if his vacation is finally over' this all will be discussed when he does finally come back," he said.

Over the last few days, BJP leaders have also made remarks like "eclipses can be predicted, Mr Gandhi's return cannot".